Deutsche Telekom is considering a partnership with WhatsApp

Deutsche Telekom, the largest telecommunications company in Germany and the parent company of T-Mobile, is considering a partnership with WhatsApp, the popular mobile instant messaging startup, according to Bloomberg. Facebook recently announced its agreement to acquire WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock. The mobile instant messaging startup has 450 million monthly users and still growing which makes it an attractive partner for carriers. 

Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE) is considering an alliance with WhatsApp Inc., the latest European phone company to seek closer links with the mobile messaging startup that agreed to be acquired by Facebook Inc. (FB) for $19 billion. Germany’s biggest carrier is prepared to partner with WhatsApp in markets such as Romania, though not in its home country, according to Claudia Nemat, the board member in charge of the European unit and technology. Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom is at the same time pushing alternative services such as Joyn and Jibe to appeal to different groups, she said. “We don’t believe that one single model will succeed, but that we’ll see a co-existence of services,” Nemat said yesterday in an interview at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. “Which one you’ll choose depends on your age group and how important privacy is to you.”