Greeting

René Obermann
Chief Executive Officer
Deutsche Telekom AG

In just a few years, high-speed Internet – broadband access – has become very popular in Germany. Almost 94 percent of all households are now technically connected to the Deutsche Telekom broadband network, and over 40% of residents already use it actively, with the curve pointing upward. But this is only the beginning. Will we soon be able to access the mobile broadband Internet anytime, anywhere? What opportunities and expectations do the experts and consumers associate with this highly dynamic development? And where does the greatest potential lie?

Deutschland Online attempts to provide the answers to these and many other questions. The survey is conceived of as a reality check – a composite survey of experts and consumers. This integrated perspective has proven particularly useful in the dynamically developing Internet context. Within Web 2.0, for example, consumers are becoming producers of their own content, and personal social networks are being established online. The division between the various business models is being redefined, as the resulting hybrid models themselves redefine the competitive environment. Some large-scale Internet enterprises already have a higher book valuation than established telecom and IT companies. The political and social framework is also going to be reshaped under the influence of the new Internet. These trends are also part of the findings contained in the latest Deutschland Online survey. In this fifth edition of “Deutschland Online”, Professor Wirtz and his team once again present an abundance of interesting facts and analyses on the topic of the Internet.

René Obermann, Bonn, Germany, January 2008