Report: T-Mobile USA's parent once again looking for a partner

Rumors that T-Mobile USA's German parent, Deutsche Telekom, is once again looking for a partner for its U.S. brand are surfacing again, this time thanks to the German newspaper Handelsblatt ("Business Gazette"). According to Reuters, Handelsblatt has information from sources inside Deutsche Telekom that the company is looking for a financial partner to help offset the cost of its high-speed data network build out in the USA. The Handelsblatt story mentions MetroPCS and Clearwire as potential partners, but states that even AT&T is to be considered. Handelsblatt does not necessarily attribute those company names to insider sources, however, saying that they are merely "conceivable" partners. The story also mentions that a purely financial partner might also be a possibility.

Previously there had been rumors of talks with Sprint, which Handelsblatt is reporting is no longer being considered. It is worth mentioning, however, that Sprint owns a majority of the Clearwire WiMAX joint venture, with which it is building out a 4G WiMAX network in the United States.