France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom to prepare joint equipment purchases

PARIS, Apr 17, (Bloomberg): France Telecom SA and Deutsche Telekom AG are preparing an accord that may lead to joint purchasing of telecommunications equipment at lower costs, according to a person familiar with the accord. The companies will announce their plans tomorrow, the person said. They are also in discussions that may result in joint bids on electronic health projects, sharing of mobile networks in Poland and common standards for "machine-to- machine" communications in some European countries, according to a second person familiar with the situation. Both people declined to be identified because the talks are private. Officials for both Paris-based France Telecom and Bonn- based Deutsche Telekom declined to comment. Deutsche Telekom Chief Technology Officer Ed Kozel and France Telecom's Olaf Swantee, who is responsible for sourcing equipment, will be present at a London press conference tomorrow, the companies said April 15 in a joint e-mailed invitation. The companies will announce "a new step" in their co-operation plans, they said. France and Germany's largest phone companies are trying to cut costs and increase economies of scale by working together on new technologies. France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom have already announced plans to co-operate in different areas as part of a broader push by phone companies to connect devices like home appliances to wireless networks. They agreed in September 2009 to merge their U.K. mobile-phone units.