(Updates with CEO comment on calls for merger of T-Mobile and T-Com)
FRANKFURT (AFX) - Deutsche Telekom AG is to offer broadband internet access to every German citizen by the year 2012 at the latest, its chief executive Kai-Uwe Ricke said.
'That is a promise,' Ricke said in an interview with German weekly Der Spiegel to be published tomorrow.
The move will be possible because Deutsche Telekom is planning to switch its old telephone network to a new network based on internet protocol technology, the magazine quoted Ricke as saying.
In the interview, Ricke also rejected calls to merge the telecoms firm's T-Mobile wireless and T-Com fixed-line units, saying such a move is not needed. newsdesk@afxnews.com jfb/ak COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited