Deutsche Telekom Posts $1.4 Billion LossDeutsche Telekom Posts $1.4 Billion Loss

The economic slowdown has hit Deutsche Telekom hard, and the telecommunications company posted a first-quarter loss of about $1.4 billion, compared with a profit of $1.2 billion a year earlier.

The loss was mainly caused by struggles in the U.K. market, as the company took a $2.4 billion write-down on its British operations. T-Mobile UK saw 111,000 customers leave for the quarter, and its average revenue per user was down to $28 from $35 a year ago.

The company said the difficulties in the U.K. market were caused by "strong economic slowdown and the intense competition." The British division wasn't the only unit that was struggling, as the company's division in Poland is also seeing sluggish growth. The telecom's German division did lose 118,000 customers for the quarter, but Deutsche Telekom said it was "largely stable."

T-Mobile USA was a mixed bag for the company, as it did have about $5.4 billion in revenue, but that was slower growth than expected. The unit posted a $322 million profit for the quarter, which was a dip from $483 million for the fourth quarter of 2008.

The U.S. division does have many positive signs, though, as it's the only U.S. carrier to have the Android-powered G1 smartphone. The handset has a touch screen that flips out to reveal a physical keyboard and is packed with tight integration with Google's Web services. The G1 has been a hit for T-Mobile, as it sold more than 1 million units in about six months.

Deutsche Telekom said T-Mobile's service revenue was up 4% primarily because of growth in wireless data. T-Mobile lags behind AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless in mobile broadband capabilities, but it's looking at an aggressive 3G rollout to help spur service revenue.

Learn more about mobile business computing at TechWeb's Mobile Business Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, May 17-21. Join us (registration required).