Europe's second largest mobile operator, said on Friday
that all options remained open in its relationship with Virgin
Mobile, despite legal threats to the British joint venture's
ownership structure.A spokesman for the German company, which owns
half of Virgin Mobile and carries the service on its UK network,
told Reuters that legal wrangling did not mean the current
arrangements with its partner, the Virgin airline-to-retail
conglomerate, would necessarily break down.
"We have a disagreement, and we're trying to
get the best resolution to it," said the spokesman for T-Mobile,
which is owned by Deutsche Telekom. T-Mobile had previously
declined to comment on the troubled relationship.
He was responding to an article in an industry
publication, Mobile, which quoted a T-Mobile spokesman as saying:
"We would like to think that the outcome of the case is that we
will renegotiate new terms with Virgin, but it may be that Virgin
Mobile ends up with a different supplier.
"Continuing the status quo and present terms
is not an option."
But a spokesman told Reuters it was still a
possibility that its current arrangements with Virgin could
continue.
Backed by British entrepreneur Richard
Branson, Virgin Group has responded to a recent unsuccessful court
action brought against it by T-Mobile by launching a legal action
of its own.
The two partners had fought in court over fees
T-Mobile pays to Virgin Mobile for each customer signed up, but a
judge ruled against T-Mobile and said it had tried to "secure
commercial advantages" by triggering a termination of its Virgin
contract.
A source familiar with the matter said earlier
this week that T-Mobile's stake in the joint venture might have to
be sold, depending on the outcome of the new court battle.
Virgin Mobile's value is unclear, but it has
targeted more than £400m in turnover for 2003.
The two parties are currently awaiting a time
slot for Britain's High Court to hear the new case, though a source
said it is not expected to have enough time until later this
year.
Virgin, Britain's fifth-largest mobile
operator with around 2.6 million subscribers, declined to comment
on the matter, referring journalists to the court decision.