Deutsche Telekom, in its annual report for 2024, has revealed how its capital expenditure (Capex) is driving customer growth across its business operations in Germany, the United States, and Europe.
Deutsche Telekom says its total cash capex (before spectrum investment) decreased by EUR 0.6 billion to EUR 16.0 billion in 2024. Deutsche Telekom’s total Capex was EUR 16.6 billion in 2023 and EUR 21 billion in 2022. This shows that Deutsche Telekom has significantly lowered its Capex in the last three years.
Germany
In Germany, cash Capex of Deutsche Telekom increased by 4.3 percent, reaching EUR 4.8 billion in 2024, largely allocated to the expansion of the fiber-optic network.
This investment contributed to an increase in the number of households passed by fiber-optic infrastructure to 10.1 million and supported strong demand for mobile rate plans, leading to a growth of 1.2 million high-value mobile contract customers.
Similarly, fixed-network customers increased due to rising demand for higher bandwidths, with fiber-optic-based lines reaching 20.8 million.
Deutsche Telekom says 98 percent of German households can already use 5G.
T-Mobile US
In the United States, cash Capex decreased by 9.0 percent due to efficiencies from previous investments in T-Mobile’s 5G network. Despite the reduction in Capex, T-Mobile US still experienced significant customer growth, adding 6.3 million customers in 2024, demonstrating the sustained impact of past investments in infrastructure on customer acquisition.
T‑Mobile US had 129.5 million customers in 2024 against 119.7 million customers in 2023. Customer additions were 6.3 million in 2024, compared to 5.9 million in 2023.
High Speed Internet customer additions included in postpaid other net customer additions were 1.5 million and 1.9 million in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Europe
In the European segment, cash Capex rose by 6.0 percent to EUR 1.9 billion, with investments focused on broadband, fiber-optic technology, and 5G as part of an integrated network strategy.
Deutsche Telekom’s Europe segment saw strong customer growth in 2024, with mobile customers increasing by 3.9 percent to 49.7 million and contract customers rising by 2.7 percent, particularly in Poland, Greece, Croatia, and the Czech Republic.
The company expanded 5G coverage to 77.2 percent of the population and grew its broadband customer base by 3.3 percent to 7.2 million, driven by investments in fiber-optic infrastructure.
High-performance fiber-optic network access reached 10.1 million households, adding 1 million more than in 2023. Fixed-network lines increased slightly to 8.1 million, while FMC customers grew by 6.5 percent to 8.2 million.
The annual report of Deutsche Telekom indicates a clear correlation between Capex and customer growth, where strategic investments in network expansion and technological advancements directly support increases in customer acquisition and retention.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
