7. Q&A – Thorsten Langheim on Group Development – Deutsche Telekom Capital Markets Day 2018

I think we already had that in 2011, 2012 on a different scale. We were discussing that equity ownership, that ownership of shares is something that we really should demonstrate to the outside market. So we're already focusing on this since a long time. And then on top of it, we have these special cases. The reason why the U.S. is working so wonderful is because you have alignment of interest between managers and shareholders, us being one part of it. But sometimes you have very specific cases that you want to take out. I don't think that this is a role model for all our assets. I'd love that our assets like in Europe, where Sweeney is obviously peaking and doing copy and paste to a certain extent, moving more into this direction that you have situations which we had in the past: someone is making a huge investment, it fades, you write it off, and then the only consequence out of it is that you get a three-year paycheck for not delivering. This is going to change because you have, in capital allocation what I'm dealing with most of the time, is that you have people who are 1,000 percent convinced that this is the right to invest. This changes a little bit if you say put your money where your mouth is. Akiva Patel is kind of chasing a lot. Some invested, some managers right now. I read this was with interest of saying when is he finally buy shares? I can tell you also for myself, if I look at Tim, he said the first thing to me is, 'Thorsten, I want you being tight with your compensation to your assets.' And I can tell you, more than 50% of my compensation is tied to the success or non-success of T-Mobile US. Of course I got it right and I'm very happy about that. Now he complains that he pays me that money. But to cut a long story short, selective cases, private equity model, it's not group wide, but equity ownership, keep skin in the game is important to us.

Okay, very smart questions, I have to say. So the first one is the one I cannot answer, Akiva. It's that's the reason why I said I'm studying the tower sector. I'm trying to get in touch with the companies that know it best and want to learn. I listen to Duke what is important to do a converter on there, kind of defending its network leadership and trying to figure out how do we number one make sure that people understand this is not a six billion, this is much more than that, highlighting the value of it. And then I think over the next 18 months you should ask that question again. Certainly a difference if you own a tower portfolio in a company where you are in a country where you are the leader, or if you own a tower network in a country where you are just mobile only. And let's say that in the long run, this may not be part of our portfolio, so you may be sometimes more opportunistic than others. In terms of Holland and your question of convergence, we will hopefully for the first time, and I think we should observe this very closely all together, is how is the EC looking at this transaction? We have the first readout in next week which is listening only. I just hope that the EC moves away from this very rigid stance that they have on mobile-to-mobile consolidation, which to a certain extent has caused us as an industry to see multiple degradation. I think this is the perfect case for saying this should be approved given the market in itself. And second, I think I hope that they also do recognize that they have been part of the problem, allowing Vodafone's ego creating a market structure where 90% of a beta is with two parties, and at the same time they expect from the Mavericks in this market to be competitive for the next five to ten years. How should we build the scale and how should we compete if the fixed line prices are increasing over six months and we are sitting on a mobile asset and they create private market? So there needs to be a kind of balance. And I will be much smarter and hopefully six, nine months of this deal being approved. And one part of it that we are pushing for is obviously beyond choice that we acquired from Vodafone, getting better wholesale access, whether that's cable or copper.