BONN (dpa-AFX) - Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY.PK) said the targets for the next stage of the company's broadband strategy are to provide 26 million households with up to 100 Mbit per second, and 15 million households with as much as 250 Mbit per second, by the end of the year. The company said, with a market share of 40 percent in the broadband market, it will provide some 80 percent of households and companies with high-speed Internet by the end of the year, whether directly or indirectly.
Speaking at the company's shareholders' meeting, CEO Tim Höttges called for increased competition in Germany, saying that other companies must also invest in new networks. Höttges said that there should be no more regulation for new fiber-optic lines in order to achieve the goal of nationwide access to gigabit speeds faster.
Höttges said, as of the end of the current year, the company will begin deploying voice biometrics on its customer service hotlines. 'That means we will identify our customers quite simply by the sound of their voices. No more time wasted searching for your customer number.'
The Supervisory Board and the Board of Management proposed to the shareholders' meeting a dividend of 65 eurocents per share. The company noted that this corresponds to 30 percent growth in three years.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX