Deutsche Telekom Adds 222,000 Fiber Lines in August as Bernstein Cuts Target and Buyback Rolls On

Deutsche Telekom added 222,000 FTTH connections in August, reaching 14.1 million premises, as Bernstein cut the stock to Market-Perform.

Deutsche Telekom finished August with 222,000 additional fiber-to-the-home connections, lifting its FTTH footprint to 14.1 million households and businesses — premises that can now book tariffs at bandwidths of up to 2,000 Mbit/s. The Bonn-based carrier disclosed the buildout figures on Tuesday, the same day its shares slipped 1.5% to EUR 26.40.

The network expansion sits at the heart of the group's domestic growth story. High-speed lines lock in residential and business customers for the long haul, while owning the physical cable infrastructure underpins dependable fixed-line revenue. On that front, Deutsche Telekom is pulling away from rivals, many of which are wrestling with steep construction costs.

Market-wide buildout loses steam

Industry data from the Breko fiber association shows the broader market slowing down. The number of connected buildings grew by 1.2 million in the twelve months to mid-2026, down from a gain of 2.1 million a year earlier. Competitors' investment budgets are thinning in tandem: Breko puts their spending at EUR 9.8 billion, against EUR 10.2 billion previously.

Rival plans reflect that caution. Deutsche Glasfaser is targeting roughly 200,000 new connections in 2026, while the OXG joint venture is aiming for a total of 7 million FTTH lines. UGG has set its sights on 2.2 million connections, and Glasfaser Nordwest is building an estimated 150,000 hookups a year.

Usage patterns inside the Telekom network show where demand concentrates. In August, the company's own MagentaTV offering led downloads ahead of video services such as YouTube, Instagram and Netflix. On the upload side, Google Cloud outpaced rivals including AWS and Microsoft Teams.

Bernstein steps back, buyback presses ahead

Sentiment on the equity has cooled. Bernstein downgraded the DAX group from "Outperform" to "Market-Perform" on Friday and trimmed its price target to EUR 28.10 from EUR 37, citing uncertainty over a possible merger at subsidiary T-Mobile US and intensifying competition in the German broadband market. At EUR 26.40, the stock trades 23% below its 52-week high of EUR 34.35.

Management, meanwhile, keeps leaning on capital measures to support the share. A disclosure published Monday showed the company repurchased a further 3,292,319 of its own shares between September 21 and 25. Since the current program began on August 10, the total has reached 17,298,084 shares.

Beyond the cable business, Deutsche Telekom is widening its digital and cloud offerings. Also on Tuesday, it announced a partnership with provider caery on an AI-based software solution that automates billing, auditing and payouts for health and long-term care insurers. The application runs on the group's own T Cloud Public.

Investors now have two dates circled. On Monday, October 5, the group hosts its AI Investor Day, focused on the commercial applications of artificial intelligence. Detailed figures follow about a month later, when third-quarter 2026 results are released on November 5 — a report likely to draw close attention to margin development and customer growth.