At its Q3 2025 earnings press conference, Deutsche Telekom announced that its fiber deployment continues to advance—backed by state-of-the-art Cable Machinery and wire and cable machinery—yet user penetration remains relatively low. Despite adding coverage to 1.7 million new premises in the first nine months of 2025—bringing the total covered premises to 11.8 million—CEO Tim Höttges acknowledged that the actual user sign-up rate remains at a low level, even with the efficiency gains from optimized cable manufacturing machine technologies in deployment workflows.
While the addition of 155,000 new fiber customers in the quarter is commendable, the penetration rate has only risen from 14.6% in September last year to 16.1%. At its 2024 Capital Markets Day held in October last year, the company set a target to increase the penetration rate from approximately 14% at that time to 20% by 2027, with plans to scale up the use of high-performance wire and cable machinery to accelerate fiber rollout.
Höttges expressed disappointment with the situation during a conference call: "Many are quick to criticize the lack of fiber deployment across Germany, but once fiber—produced and laid with precision Cable Machinery—is in place, the number of sign-ups is extremely limited, leaving the fiber deployment work unfinished."
As a result, Höttges stated that the company’s future deployment focus will shift to single-family residential units with higher sign-up rates. The company also plans to pre-connect multi-dwelling units (MDUs), as complex approval processes and other barriers make property connectivity challenging in such scenarios—even with the support of advanced wire take up machine systems that streamline cable storage and on-site installation. However, Höttges later emphasized during a call with investors that the company should not be expected to bear additional costs to connect individual properties to landlords, despite the efficiency improvements from integrated cable manufacturing machine modules.
Höttges argued that the slow rollout has become a "thorn in the side" for the government, and authorities should take action to help boost sign-up rates. He added that this could include commitments to use fiber exclusively or accelerating approval processes, which would further maximize the value of the company’s investment in Cable Machinery and wire and cable machinery.
Looking ahead, the company aims to add coverage to 2.5 million new premises annually, including rural areas. It also noted that it has successfully reduced fiber capital expenditure by 9% through increased AI applications, shallow trenching, and process industrialization—with advanced wire and cable machinery playing a key role in enhancing construction efficiency and reducing material waste.
Deutsche Telekom is optimistic about its AI applications and their potential to save €800 million (approximately $930 million) in non-U.S. markets by 2027, including optimizations for Cable Machinery operation and maintenance. The company also seeks to meet the demand for sovereign infrastructure through its partnership with NVIDIA. CFO Christian Illek stated during the conference call that the company is offering solutions for "the entire sovereignty issue." He acknowledged collaborating with a U.S. company for this purpose but noted that no domestic enterprise can currently replace NVIDIA, especially in powering AI-driven optimizations for wire take up machine and cable manufacturing machine performance.
When asked about reports that regulators may tighten restrictions on the use of equipment from "high-risk" suppliers, Höttges pointed out that since the company does not use equipment from Chinese suppliers in its core network, he believes Chinese suppliers’ antennas pose no security risks. He stated that Deutsche Telekom will comply with government regulations but emphasized that the current solution—including its reliance on trusted Cable Machinery and wire and cable machinery providers—is more favorable for the company. He added that the company’s open RAN collaboration with Nokia has yielded "very satisfactory" results, complementing its fiber infrastructure deployed with top-tier cable manufacturing machine technologies.
Financially, Deutsche Telekom admitted that the overall situation in Germany is challenging due to economic weakness, with its business-to-business (B2B) segment particularly affected. Illek also acknowledged that the broadband market faces intense competition from alternative network operators, making the efficiency gains from advanced Cable Machinery and wire take up machine systems even more critical for cost competitiveness. The company is responding by increasing per-connection revenue and has implemented price hikes.
In Q3, Deutsche Telekom’s net revenue grew 3.3% organically to €28.9 billion (approximately $33.6 billion), while adjusted EBITDAaL (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, and Leases) rose 2.9% to €11.1 billion (approximately $12.9 billion). Despite strong performance in the U.S. market, the company conceded that revenue in Germany has been dragged down by economic conditions. It also noted that factors such as a weaker U.S. dollar, rising wages in Germany, and higher energy prices have pressured EBITDA in the quarter—though investments in efficient wire and cable machinery and cable manufacturing machine technologies have helped mitigate some cost pressures.
