Deutsche Telekom bets €1 billion on Polish fibre as T-Mobile Polska shifts to full-service telecom operator

Deutsche Telekom is making a major bet on Poland's fixed broadband market with a €1 billion acquisition of Fiberhost and Inea, a transaction that will give its Polish subsidiary direct control of a large fibre-to-the-home network and accelerate its transformation into an integrated mobile and fixed telecommunications provider.

The German telecommunications group agreed to acquire Polish fibre infrastructure operator Fiberhost and broadband and television provider Inea from Macquarie Asset Management and minority shareholders. Once completed, the transaction will bring more than 300,000 Inea customers into the group and give T-Mobile Polska access to Fiberhost's own FTTH infrastructure, which reaches more than 1.4 million Polish households.

The acquisition is more strategically significant than a straightforward expansion of subscriber numbers. T-Mobile Polska has historically built its position around mobile telecommunications and later expanded into fixed broadband through wholesale agreements with third-party infrastructure owners. Buying Fiberhost gives the company something it previously lacked at this scale: ownership of the physical fibre network connecting directly to homes.

That changes the competitive equation in one of Central and Eastern Europe's largest telecommunications markets.

T-Mobile began using wholesale fixed-network access in Poland in 2018 and gradually built a nationwide convergent offer combining mobile and home connectivity. The Fiberhost transaction now allows the operator to move further down the infrastructure chain and compete more directly with rivals that already control substantial fixed networks.

Deutsche Telekom's European management sees the acquisition as an important step in T-Mobile Polska's growth strategy. Dominique Leroy, the group's board member responsible for Europe, said combining strong mobile and fibre capabilities would provide a stronger foundation for customer services while increasing the company's contribution to Poland's digitalisation.

The deal remains subject to approval by Polish competition authorities and is expected to close by the end of 2026. Until those approvals are secured, Fiberhost and Inea will continue operating under their existing ownership structures.

From mobile operator to convergent challenger

Owning fibre infrastructure can substantially change the economics and strategic flexibility of a telecommunications company. Operators relying exclusively on wholesale agreements can offer fixed broadband without committing billions of euros to constructing nationwide networks, but they remain dependent on third parties for access conditions, network development and part of the economics of each customer relationship.

Infrastructure ownership provides greater control.

For T-Mobile Polska, Fiberhost will complement its existing nationwide mobile network, backbone infrastructure, data centres and 5G capabilities with a sizeable proprietary FTTH footprint. CEO Andreas Maierhofer described the transaction as the beginning of a new chapter for the Polish business, allowing it to further develop its convergent portfolio for both households and corporate customers.

The acquisition does not mean Fiberhost's infrastructure will become exclusively reserved for T-Mobile. The network operator is expected to continue providing wholesale access to other telecommunications companies, preserving the infrastructure-sharing model that has helped expand fibre coverage across Poland.

That creates a dual strategic benefit for Deutsche Telekom. T-Mobile Polska gains direct access to infrastructure for its own retail services, while Fiberhost remains an infrastructure platform capable of generating wholesale business from competing operators.

Inea adds another piece to the transaction. Rather than acquiring infrastructure alone, Deutsche Telekom is also obtaining an established retail business with more than 300,000 broadband and television customers. The combination therefore gives T-Mobile Polska both the network and an immediate customer base through which to expand its fixed-market presence.

The transaction arrives as Poland's fibre market goes through a period of consolidation. Several infrastructure assets have changed hands or attracted potential buyers as telecom groups, infrastructure funds and institutional investors reassess the value of networks built during the country's rapid broadband expansion.

For Deutsche Telekom, the acquisition also reflects a wider strategic emphasis on combining mobile connectivity with fibre. The group has been investing in fixed infrastructure across different markets, including through fibre partnerships and acquisitions, as demand for high-speed broadband, streaming, cloud applications and increasingly data-intensive digital services continues to grow.

Poland represents an important part of that European footprint. Deutsche Telekom says T-Mobile Polska currently serves more than 13.5 million mobile customers and around 500,000 fixed-line customers, alongside business services spanning cloud infrastructure, data centres and cybersecurity.

Adding Inea's customer base and Fiberhost's network could therefore materially rebalance the subsidiary towards fixed connectivity.

The strategic rationale also reflects a broader shift in European telecommunications. Operators increasingly want to sell households an integrated relationship rather than a single connectivity product: mobile subscriptions, fibre broadband, television and entertainment, cloud services and other digital products can be bundled together, increasing revenue per customer and potentially reducing churn.

Infrastructure ownership can make that strategy easier to execute, particularly as fibre replaces older fixed-network technologies and 5G becomes increasingly integrated with home and enterprise connectivity.

For Poland, the transaction brings another major European telecommunications group deeper into the country's fixed infrastructure market. Deutsche Telekom has operated in Poland for decades through T-Mobile Polska, but controlling an FTTH network reaching 1.4 million homes gives the German company a different level of exposure to the country's digital infrastructure.

Competition authorities will now determine whether the deal can proceed under the proposed terms. If approved, the €1 billion acquisition will not simply add another asset to Deutsche Telekom's European portfolio. It will mark a structural change in its Polish strategy, turning T-Mobile Polska from a company that built its strength primarily in mobile communications into a more vertically integrated competitor capable of controlling both 5G connectivity and fibre running directly into Polish homes.