Deutsche Telekom told to drop prices

Deutsche Telekom is considering whether to appeal against a ruling ordering the telco to charge its customers just DM27 (£9) for switching to a rival operator.

Since the German telecoms market was liberalised at the start of the year, a battle has raged between Deutsche Telekom, competitors such as Mannesmann Arcor and o.tel.o Communications, and the newly established telecoms regulator. Germany's largest telco has changed its switching fees three times, only to be told by the regulator that they are still too high.

The company originally wanted to charge customers DM47 (£16) for switching operators, claiming the fees were intended to cover costs. A Deutsche Telekom spokesman told NMTV: "We are considering appealing, but we have to check out what we can do legally."