LONDON (Standard&Poor's) April 8, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the announcement by the mobile subsidiaries of Deutsche Telekom AG (BBB+/Stable/A-2), Spanish operator Telefonica S.A. (A/Stable/A-1), and Telecom Italia SpA (BBB+/Stable/A-2) of their intention to create an operating alliance will have no effect on the ratings and outlooks on the three national telecommunications operators. Standard&Poor's views the alliance as being motivated mainly by the need for these operators to defend their home markets from the threat presented by U.K.-based global wireless operator Vodafone Group PLC's (A/Stable/A-1) industry leading position, homogeneous product offerings, and financial strength. Vodafone competes in the German, Italian, and Spanish mobile markets and its size and product mix provide it with
