Overview
Deutsche Telekom AG (German pronunciation: [ˌdɔʏtʃə ˈteːləkɔm ʔaːˌɡeː] (listen); short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was formed in 1995 when Deutsche Bundespost (at that time a monopoly under state ownership) was privatized. Since then, Deutsche Telekom has featured among Fortune 500 companies, with its latest ranking at number 62 (in 2022).
The company operates several subsidiaries worldwide, including the mobile communications brand T-Mobile.
As of April 2020, the German government holds a 14.5% stake in company stock directly, and another 17.4% through the government bank KfW.[4] The company is a component of the EURO STOXX 50 stock market index.[5]
History
The Deutsche Bundespost was the federal German government postal administration created in 1947 as a successor to the Reichspost. It was also the major telephone company in West Germany.
On 1 July 1989, as part of a post office reform, Deutsche Bundespost was split into three entities, one being Deutsche Telekom.
On 1 January 1995, as part of another reform, Deutsche Bundespost Telekom became Deutsche Telekom AG, and was privatized in 1996. As such, it shares a common heritage with the other privatized Deutsche Bundespost companies, Deutsche Post (DHL) and Deutsche Postbank.[6][7]