Deutsche Telekom acknowledged that the telecoms industry in Europe is “still under massive pressure,” with Rene Obermann, the company’s chairman, telling a shareholder meeting that “the air is getting thinner and thinner.”

In a speech published by the operator, the executive noted “harsh competition and new Internet services which are replacing previous methods of communication,” citing services such as Skype, WhatsApp and others, which “appear to be free of charge.”

Obermann also noted that “intervention by the regulatory authorities is costing us vast amounts of revenue – and they are not just interested in the money we earn in the fixed network, but in helping themselves to revenue from mobile communications, too.”

Despite this, the executive said that the company has “performed relatively well in this tough environment.” It noted that its share price has remained “just about stable” over recent years, while its competitors saw theirs fall by “around 55 percent,” and that it met its financial targets for 2011.

Obermann also addressed the future of its US business, observing that the failed sale to AT&T “would have been the best solution, not only for Deutsche Telekom and its shareholders but also for the customers and staff of T-Mobile USA and AT&T – and also for the US mobile market as a whole.”

Noting that the company has received US$3 billion in cash, and spectrum and capacity worth a similar amount, from AT&T, he now acknowledges that “a complete sale like the one to AT&T is considered unlikely.” He continued: “We must find other ways to increase the return on our capital, or to reduce our capital investment. We are doing everything in our power to achieve this.”

Noting that it would be “strategically wrong to build our future business on network business alone, since it will remain regulated and continue to decline,” Telekom noted growth opportunities in the mobile Internet and cloud services.