Broad range of products for business customers - attractive prices -

High-speed Internet access available to residential customers in July - roll-out to more than 40 locations by the end of the year

 As of April, Deutsche Telekom, Germany's first network operator, will provide its customers with T-DSL products. A new era in telecommunications dawns as Deutsche Telekom provides broadband T-DSL accesses to the Internet as well as intranet and extranet solutions. The product will initially be available to professional users. Deutsche Telekom plans to offer the T-DSL product, fast Internet access, to residential customers in July 1999. Deutsche Telekom's T-DSL product family is based upon ADSL technology (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line).

Deutsche Telekom will provide 43 local networks with ADSL technology by the end of 1999, enabling 100,000 customers to be connected. Further expansion will depend upon demand, although Deutsche Telekom aims to provide extensive coverage of core areas by 2003. ADSL technology enables large data volumes to be transmitted at up to 8 mbit/s via the existing copper cable of a telephone line. In this instance, Internet bandwidth is primarily used to receive data (download).

The benefits of T-DSL will be consistently used for the broadband access to T-Online. With T-Online Speed 50 and T-Online Speed 100, Deutsche Telekom will introduce the first broadband services for T-Online users in July. The T-Online Speed 50 customer surfs with 768 kbit per second at a monthly charge of DM 99 with 50 free hours. T-Online Speed 100 offers the same access speed with 100 free hours at a monthly charge of DM 149.

In addition, a package made up of the ISDN standard and T-DSL line costs DM 98 per month.

April 1999 will herald the launch of T-InterConnect DSL-based business products and T-Net ATM products. T-InterConnect currently comprises four ADSL-based products that are integrated into the existing product lines Classic and IntraConnect. The bandwidth service levels on offer range from 1.5 mbit/s downstream / 160 kbit/s upstream to 6 mbit/s / 576 kbit/s. In addition to the one-time installation charge, the customer will also pay a monthly fee based on how much bandwidth he / she has used on average.

T-Net ATM allows ADSL-based products with ATM access to realise switched connections (SVC, switched virtual connection), whilst the ATM solution enables switched as well as fixed connections (PVC, permanent virtual connection). There are several bandwidth speeds available, ranging from 2 mbit/s / 204 kbit/s to 6 mbit/s / 614 kbit/s. The price concept is based on the existing T-Net ATM model and, in addition to the one-time installation fee, comprises a monthly basic charge as well as call charges. This new means of access may well attract small and medium-sized companies to Deutsche Telekom's ATM service.

At CeBIT '99, Deutsche Telekom will use some of its renowned customers as models to present its pilot project as well as its first products for business customers. T-InterConnect will demonstrate online shopping in conjunction with renowned customers AlphaNet and Intershop. Deutsche Telekom's exclusive ADSL line access supports performance updates and customer accesses. Deutsche Telekom will use architects' offices, advertising agencies and the car industry to demonstrate T-Net ATM applications with SVC technology. The main advantage of ADSL access technology, namely to enable small and medium-sized companies to send large volumes of data using low-cost bandwidth access, will be at the fore. Deutsche Telekom will link up with the insurance company R+V Versicherung and use a key application to demonstrate how switched connections are installed in practice. The company's branches are able to access multimedia customer data from a central database. The branches can use videoconferencing to consult a specialist as and when required.

High-speed Internet access will be available to residential customers in the second half of 1999. Whilst T-DSL is no substitute for T-ISDN, it is a new technology that ideally suits the specific requirements of broadband multimedia products. Although the two technologies differ, they complement each other and offer the ideal solution for future communication using existing copper telephone lines.

The benefits of an ADSL-based Internet access for residential customers are presented on the basis of the new T-Online ADSL homepage and the pilot project works. As well as offering high-speed Internet surfing, the pilot project contains a special multimedia platform which stores applications such as online games, MPEG1 videos for online streaming or downloading (Video on Demand), an image database, music tracks and videos. The aim is to provide residential customers with an insight into the diverse new applications that will soon be available through ADSL access. Deutsche Telekom will, for the first time, also present the e-mail function that has now been implemented. Customers of the pilot project will be able to continue using their high-speed Internet accesses until the product is launched.