D Telekom eyes mobile web boost for US: Paper

Deutsche Telekom hopes demand for faster mobile internet services will help it gain customers in the United States, Chief Executive Rene Obermann said in an interview with a German paper.

"Mobile internet offers good growth chances at the moment," Obermann told Bild am Sonntag, adding that Deutsche Telekom currently has the fastest network there.

Obermann and new US head Philip Humm are due on Thursday to present a strategy for the struggling US unit T-Mobile USA, which is the market's No. 4 operator but has seen profits fall.

The US represents the group's second largest market behind Germany and it has about 33 million customers there.

"In the US, we need an aggressive marketing policy and customer-friendly pricing," Obermann told Bild am Sonntag. "We have to improve our arguments as to why customers should come to us or stay with us."

The US unit plans to double its network speeds this year in order to offer customers the chance to use applications such as video conferencing or multi-player gaming from their mobile phones.

Humm has already said T-Mobile USA will not charge a premium for its highest-speed services, as it seeks to regain ground on rivals Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc and Sprint Nextel.