[Deutsche Telekom talks about the cost of 3G.]

By Bertrand Benoit in Frankfurt -- "T-Mobil, the mobile telephony arm of Deutsche Telekom, said on Wednesday it would initially spend about DM7.5bn (E3.83bn, $3.68bn) on building its third-generation mobile phone network in Germany.

"Analysts said the figure was below market expectations of E4bn-E6bn.

"Third-generation UMTS networks will be used to deliver high-speed mobile transmissions from 2002.

"T-Mobil's existing network is more comprehensive than that of its main competitors, which might be saving it some roll-out costs," said Petra Nix, telecommunications analyst at Bank Vontobel in Zurich. She said large orders for equipment might allow the group to save on building similar infrastructure in other countries.

"Deutsche Telekom needs to set up a similar network in the UK, where it has purchased a licence to operate third-generation mobile services that will range from fast mobile internet access to delivering video and high-quality sound to wireless devices.

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