Since Deutsche Telekom consolidated its national and international wholesale activities into a single entity, T Wholesale, the conversation with its customers has shifted from products to solutions.

That’s according to Dr. Kerstin Baumgart, director wholesale and member of the board at Deutsche Telekom, who described the change as straightforward, but one that makes a real difference to the business.

“Decisions are faster, collaboration is easier, and we can look at customer needs much more holistically,” she explained to Capacity. “Bringing our teams together has changed the conversation – instead of discussing individual products, we’re increasingly talking with customers about complete solutions.”

She shares her thoughts on open-access wholesale fibre in Europe, the AI hype in telecoms and what’s next for Deutsche Telekom as it celebrates its 30^th anniversary.

Opportunities and challenges in Europe’s fibre market

The merger, which took place at the start of 2025, was a move by Deutsche Telekom to reflect growing demand for integrated services. At the time, the telco giant said it was designed to offer more streamlined solutions that address global needs, combining local expertise with international knowledge.

It also emphasised the importance of equipping the division to address the growing trend of internationalisation – something that has become more critical for the telecoms sector in recent years.

As a result of the merger, Baumgart said the company is now “creating opportunities” that weren’t possible before.

“Ultimately, that’s what the merger was about – not just organisational integration, but creating more value for our customers,” she said.

The merger also came as open-access wholesale fibre was becoming a hot debate across Europe. An open access network is a fibre infrastructure that is shared among multiple service providers, making the marketplace more cost-effective.

Open-access wholesale fibre also separates network ownership from retail internet services, sharing one physical infrastructure among multiple providers. As a result, it gives end-users greater ISP choice, better pricing and faster and more reliable broadband.

For Baumgart, it’s no longer about the importance of open access – but how the industry makes it work in a way that supports investment and competition.

“Europe still has a significant fibre rollout ahead of it. That requires enormous investment, and no single player will build the digital infrastructure of the future alone,” she said. “That’s why I believe partnerships will become even more important. Successful wholesale is about utilising infrastructure, creating attractive services for customers and ensuring that investment remains sustainable over the long term.

“If we get that balance right, open access becomes a growth driver for the entire market.”

Capturing AI demand

AI continues to surge in the telecoms industry, automating processes like coding and customer support, to transforming essential parts of businesses like security.

The technology can also enable companies and their workforces to make faster and more informed decisions, Baumgart said, crediting these reasons as to why the industry is looking to embrace AI further.

“The question isn’t how much AI we can introduce, the question is where AI genuinely creates value,” she explained.

However, despite appetite for AI across the industry, there are still areas that depend on human judgement – including customer relationships, strategic decisions and the operation of critical infrastructure.

For Baumgart, technology should increase trust rather than replacing it.

“Trust requires accountability,” she added. “That’s why responsible AI, supported by strong governance, high-quality data and robust security, is non-negotiable.”

At Deutsche Telekom, Baumgart has already witnessed how AI has changed the conversation with their customers in a remarkably short space of time. She explained how, not long ago, the focus was primarily on bandwidth. Because of AI, this has now changed.

“Today, customers are asking about end-to-end infrastructure: how to connect data centres, cloud environments and AI workloads securely, reliably and with low latency,” she said. “We’re seeing particularly strong momentum around data centre interconnection, especially International Private Connect and data centre interconnection, especially with hyperscalers and other digital infrastructure providers.”

The company has come to the realisation that connectivity alone is no longer enough, as customers increasingly expect integrated solutions that combine network connectivity, colocation and resilient infrastructure.

“That’s where we see T Wholesale creating value – as a partner that brings these capabilities together,” Baumgart explained. “That means investing in new growth areas for ubiquitous and resilient connectivity like satellite, International Private Connect and AI-enabled services.”

Deutsche Telekom at 30 and mapping the future of wholesale

In July, Deutsche Telekom marked its 30^th birthday. To keep changing with the times, the company is eager to invest in new growth areas like AI-enabled services, satellite connectivity and Travel eSIM, Baumgart explained.

“Thirty years of wholesale at Deutsche Telekom demonstrate one thing very clearly: our industry never stands still,” Baumgart told us. “As we look towards 2027, our ambition is to continue evolving – from a traditional wholesale provider into a strategic growth partner for our customers.”

She also said that “innovation alone isn’t enough” and that the company wants to reach “new customer segments” and strengthen its partner ecosystem, while also exploring new go-to-market models – adding that how Deutsche Telekom does business is “equally important”.

“We’re investing heavily in digitalisation, automation and AI to make working with T Wholesale simpler, faster and more intuitive,” she explained. “Because in the end, customer experience is as important as the network itself.”

Looking ahead to 2030, where much of the industry is currently strategising, Baumgart believes that the term ‘telecom wholesale’ will describe only part of what Deutsche Telekom actually does. While connectivity will remain its foundation, the company’s role will increasingly be to “orchestrate digital infrastructure,” she said.

“That means bringing together connectivity, cloud, AI, satellite and digital platforms into solutions that help our customers grow,” she added. “At the same time, the industry will become even more collaborative. No operator, no technology provider and no infrastructure company can succeed in isolation.

“The companies that will lead in 2030 won’t necessarily own the most infrastructure. They’ll be the ones that build the strongest ecosystems, innovate with their partners and make complexity disappear for their customers.”

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