The ratings on Deutsche Telekom AG (DT), one of the world's largest integrated telecommunications operators, reflect Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' assessment of DT's business risk profile as "strong". This is underpinned by its strong market position in Germany and the group's large and diversified operations across Western Europe, Southern and Eastern Europe, and the U.S. These strengths, coupled with the telecom industry's only moderate cyclicality and ongoing efficiency initiatives, are likely to allow DT to generate resilient and high free operating cash flow (FOCF) in the future, in our opinion. In addition, DT operates a measured financial policy that targets net debt to EBITDA in the 2.0x-2.5x range (after DT's adjustments). However, factoring in Standard&Poor's sizable adjustments,
