LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) April 28, 2000--Standard&Poor's today placed its double-'A'-minus/'A-1'-plus ratings on Deutsche Telekom AG (Deutsche Telekom) and Deutsche Telekom International Finance B.V. on CreditWatch with negative implications. (See list below for all rating actions.) The rating action follows yesterday's announcement that Deutsche Telekom, via its fully owned subsidiary One 2 One, has acquired one of the five U.K. third-generation (3G) universal mobile telecommunications systems (UMTS) mobile voice and data licenses for £4 billion (US$6.3 billion) to be paid in cash. The uncertainty regarding the future profitability and cash generating ability of 3G networks is high. Demand for enhanced wireless data services is highly uncertain, particularly given the relatively long lead time before 3G networks will
