Ad-hoc | 15 December 2004 08:15

telegate to take legal action against Deutsche Telekom for EUR70 million

Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– telegate plans to take legal action against Deutsche Telekom before the Cologne Regional Court before the end of this year. The company is demanding repayment of about EUR70 million plus accrued interest from the ex-monopolist. The reason for this action are the significantly excessive fees for the provision of user data for alternative telephone inquiry providers which Deutsche Telekom has been charging since the liberalization of the market in 1996 up to today, contrary to European law. Furthermore, telegate is currently checking to see whether additional compensation claims can be put forward against Deutsche Telekom. The excessive data cost payments have led to an extreme financial burden for the company particularly during the initial market opening years causing a clear competitive disadvantage against the ex-monopolist. The company intends to make a decision with regard to filing a suit in due course. This could be done in Germany and/or also in the United States. The legal basis for the new judicial disputes between telegate and the Deutsche Telekom AG is a decision of the European Court of Justice which defined the term “data costs” in a fundamental decision at the end of November. This definition corresponds to the judicial concept held by telegate since 1996 and the implementation has been requested from the German Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Posts (RegTP) several times in vain. The decision of the highest European Court is directly binding for German authorities and courts. The Board of Management of telegate AG will provide information today, Wednesday, December 15, 2004 at 14:00 (MEZ) / 13:00 (GMT) during a telephone conference. For further information, please contact: telegate AG Claudia Strixner Fraunhofer Str. 12a – 82152 München-Martinsried Tel.: 089/ 8954-1188 – Fax: 089/ 8954-1189 e-mail: claudia.strixner@telegate.com end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 15.12.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 511880; ISIN: DE0005118806; Index: NEMAX 50 Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 150815 Dez 04