Under the heading of "defense business", the management of Deutsche Telekom is $DTE (+0,32%) is considering new roles and offerings that go beyond traditional telecoms products.
This emerges from statements made by Telekom to "Wirtschaftswoche".
With regard to the new initiative, it states that Deutsche Telekom sees itself as a "digital infrastructure provider" with a responsibility to "contribute to the protection of Germany - especially in times of hybrid threats".
However, there are currently no plans for an independent "defense division" within the Group; instead, the defense industry is to be supported on a project-by-project basis and draw on existing expertise within the Group. The initiative is, however, to be handled by T-Systems.
》Manager with Bundeswehr background heads department with flexible size《
Deutsche Telekom's defense project is to be coordinated internally by a manager with a Bundeswehr background, which emphasizes the strategic focus and proximity to the defense sector: Lieutenant Colonel Philip Stockmann, who was previously responsible for tariff and product integration in the mobile communications business, is heading the initiative. Around 16 employees are initially assigned directly to him, as Wirtschaftswoche writes, citing internal sources. Depending on the task at hand, however, up to one hundred experts from specialist departments will be involved in order to develop project-related solutions. "The number of employees varies depending on the task," Telekom told Wirtschaftswoche, "unfortunately we cannot provide any concrete details."
》Technology offering between cybersecurity and critical infrastructure《
According to Wirtschaftswoche, Deutsche Telekom's planned offering will provide industry-specific solutions for the defense sector - just as the Group's systems business already does for other industries. As a spokesperson told the news site, the company now also sees growth potential here, alongside healthcare and the public sector. This may also be due to the billions in special funds provided by the German government for the expansion of defense capacities.
Observers assume that the Group will not only offer traditional communication services, but also hosting-capable cloud infrastructures, protected communication systems and cyber security solutions, as already offered in other industries and the public sector. Although Telekom has not published any detailed information on this for security and confidentiality reasons, the alignment of T-Systems and Telekom Security points to a comprehensive technological foundation that could also be relevant for highly sensitive data and critical processes.
》Opportunities and criticism - At the crossroads between business and security《
For Telekom, the commitment to the defence sector opens up a potentially new market segment in an environment in which government spending on digitalization and secure communication is increasing. At the same time, this strategic step is not free of political and social debate: the role of a formerly civilian-oriented telecommunications company in the context of military procurement raises questions about ethical responsibility, differentiation from arms companies and the balance between the pursuit of economic profit and state security interests. However, a broad public debate has yet to take place.
