It seems Deutsche Telekom is one parent that likes its child’s sass.
According to Bloomberg, the German carrier is reportedly eyeing the adoption of a new business strategy that would mimic the disruptive style of its T-Mobile U.S. unit.
The changes would be part of an effort to jumpstart Deutsche Telekom’s ailing T-Mobile Netherlands unit after the planned sale of that business was put on hold in light of the FCC’s ongoing spectrum incentive auction. The move is just one of several strategies being considered, Bloomberg said.
Over the past three years, Deutsche Telekom has hemorrhaged more than one million mobile customers in the Netherlands, while T-Mobile U.S. has found success in the United States with its Un-carrier strategy.
In the fourth quarter alone, T-Mobile U.S. raked in 1.3 million postpaid net additions – including 917,000 postpaid phone adds – and nearly tripled its net income year over year to hit $297 million. The quarter was the sixth consecutive period in which the carrier topped one million postpaid net adds.
A major parts of T-Mobile’s strategy in the United States have included price reductions for subscriptions and the introduction of several “Un-carrier moves,” including free music and video streaming through Music Freedom and Binge On. Since the introduction of its Un-carrier initiative in the first quarter 2013, T-Mobile U.S. has gone from a combined 33.97 million customers to more than 63.2 million total customers.
The radical change in strategy could help Deutsche Telekom battle Dutch market leader Royal KPN NV, as well as Vodafone and Liberty Global, which recently teamed up to combine their operations in the Netherlands.
