By applying to or participating in the T Challenge Program, you agree to the following rules (“Rules”). These Rules are solely between, on the one side, Deutsche Telekom AG (“DTAG”) powered by T-Mobile USA, Inc. (“TMUSA”; DTAG and TMUSA jointly referred to as “Telekom”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), and, on the other side, you or, as the case may be, the entity that you represent (“you”, “participant” or “your team”), including the Team Leader who applies to the T Challenge Program (the “Team Leader”) and any members of the team. The Team Leader is responsible for distributing these rules to all members of the team (in case you apply as a team) before they participate in any work in connection with a proposal for the T Challenge Program. Telekom may at any time request each member of the team to confirm that they have reviewed and accepted the present Rules, and to sign a standard Telekom non-disclosure agreement with regard to the T Challenge. No purchase necessary to enter to win.

Scope

Telekom is organizing the T Challenge to open innovation doors and invites you to jointly build a better future through advanced connected life and work. In doing so, Telekom will be supported by its partner Schaltzeit GmbH (“Schaltzeit”). The T Challenge is one step for gradually making this vision a reality.

The T Challenge is a worldwide invitation for individual persons or teams to provide innovative solutions for specific challenge fields. The T Challenge offers multiple opportunities to the participants depending on the status of the submitted and selected ideas. In the first submission phase, participants from all over the world are invited to submit a short outline of their innovative technology and idea to be evaluated by a panel of experts.

Based on the evaluation within the qualification phase, a maximum of 12 idea proposals will be selected for the next stage (development phase). A maximum of 12 nominees will then present their solutions in a final pitch at an exhibition space and will be invited to an Award Ceremony in Bonn (and/or hybrid event). Telekom will pay the travelling and accommodation costs (accommodation solely within a timeframe defined by Telekom and only up to 4 nights, any booking done by Telekom only) of up to 5 persons per team for all nominees (for more details s. “Rules on Travelling Expenses”). All winners will receive a cash prize paid out by Telekom.

Eligibility

The T Challenge shall be open to both individuals who apply independently and to teams, units or institutions from all over the world (including universities, R&D units or institutions, and companies from the industry). Employees of the Parties and their affiliated companies, as well as governmental organizations, shall not be allowed to apply for or participate in T Challenges.

By submitting your proposal to the T Challenge Program, you represent that your Team Leader:

• does not participate in his/her role as an employee of a government entity (other than an accredited academic or research institution);
• has not been a director, officer, employee, intern or contractor of DTAG and TMUSA or their affiliates within the 36 months preceding application to the T Challenge Program (“Ineligible Personnel”); and
• is not a member of the immediate family or household of Ineligible Personnel.

Participants must at least fulfill the following criteria in the related stream to attend the T Challenge: Building the AI-Native Telco: Autonomous. Customer-Focused. Intent-Based: deliver and present a tangible design, concept, prototype or solution customized to “Telekom” during the “development phase” and during the Award Ceremony, and cooperate with the mentor assigned by Telekom.

Each participant must be of full age under the applicable law but at least 18 years of age by the time the submission is filed. As an exception, Telekom is free to allow a participant who is not of full age and/or less than 18 years of age to participate in the T Challenge, provided that the participant’s legal guardian/s has/have declared his/her/their consent in writing prior to the filing of submissions by the participant. The relevant submission deadline for the idea proposals (first phase) closes on December 5, 2025, at 23:59 CEST. The relevant submission deadline for final results will be communicated to the participants via e-mail in due time.

Awards

Winning proposals will receive an award that include prize money. Awards are not extendable or transferable without our written consent. The winning proposals receive prize money (each an “Award”) in the following amounts:

• Top award categories:
  • 1st place: 150,000 €
  • 2nd place: 75,000 €
  • 3rd place: 50,000 €
  • Special award: up to 25,000 €

Furthermore, all nominees will be invited to a Pitch & Award Ceremony in Bonn and get the opportunity to meet with high-level executives and decision-makers of Telekom and explore various cooperation opportunities with one of the world’s largest telecommunication companies.

The prize money will be paid out by Telekom within 3 months after the award ceremony, provided that you or your team has made all the required data and documents available to Telekom. The Team Leaders are responsible for any costs and expenses associated with the receipt of the prize money received from Telekom, including overhead and indirect costs, and for the distribution of potential travelling/accommodation expenses and a potential prize money etc. among its respective team members, as applicable. You will be required to complete administrative requirements to process any monetary Award, which may include completing a tax questionnaire. If you are unable to complete these requirements in a timely manner, Telekom reserve the right to rescind the Award. Except where prohibited by law, you are responsible for all taxes (including income tax and value-added tax) that may be imposed on you by your local and/or national tax authorities.

Application Content

No proposal to the T Challenge Program shall contain any confidential information and no part shall be marked as ‘confidential’. Telekom does not accept any legal obligation (whether of confidentiality, compensation, return or otherwise) with respect to any proposals. Telekom reserves the right to implement competitive, similar, or identical ideas in the future, without restriction or obligation. You understand and acknowledge that Telekom has wide access to technology, designs, and other materials, and may work on and/or develop projects and ideas that may be competitive with, similar to, or identical to your proposal in theme, idea, format or other respects. You acknowledge and agree that you will not be entitled to any compensation as a result of Telekom’s use of any such similar or identical material that has or may come to Telekom from other sources. In case you register an intellectual property right on your proposal, the provisions under the header “Right of Use” shall apply.

You represent and warrant that
(a) the content of your proposal is either your original work or an update to your original work;
(b) you are not aware of any third-party patent rights which are affected by the content of your proposal other than those indicated in the application form submitted to Telekom before the submission deadline mentioned above;
(c) the content of your proposal does not infringe, to your knowledge, misappropriate or otherwise violate any other third-party intellectual property rights, patent rights, including any copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, and know-how; and
(d) no third party can claim ownership of or rights in the content of your proposal, and your participation in this Telekom Challenge Program will not conflict with your obligations to or the rights or restrictions of any third party, such as your employer, university, or government agency.

Right of Use

Subject to the provisions under the header “Application Content”, you retain the full rights to the submitted ideas and solutions, including the right to file applications for registered intellectual property rights (in particular patents, utility models, and trademarks). If you file such an application based on or related to a submitted protectable idea or solution, you will inform DTAG and TMUSA about this, and if DTAG or TMUSA or both are interested in a submitted protectable idea or solution, you will grant them a license on fair market conditions.

In case DTAG or TMUSA or both are interested in filing or acquiring an application for a registered intellectual property right (in particular a patent, utility model, or trademark) regarding a submitted idea or solution, or wish/es to acquire an already existing intellectual property right, then the interested party or parties will make a corresponding offer to you. If you want to sell any of the aforementioned to a third person or entity, Telekom will have a right of first refusal, i.e. Telekom have the right to buy it at the same conditions for which the third person or entity would buy it, and you have to give written notice of the intended sale to Telekom at least four (4) weeks before the actual sale. DTAG and TMUSA reserve the right to further develop the submitted ideas and solutions; this shall neither affect the initial idea and solution, nor your intellectual property rights.

Privacy Policy

You acknowledge and agree that we and our implementation and processing partners (see below) may collect, store, share, and otherwise use personally identifiable information provided during the T Challenge Program application process, including but not limited to, name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address. All personally identifiable information collected is subject to, and will be used in accordance with, DTAG’s and TMUSA’ Privacy Notices, including for administering the T Challenge Program and verifying applicant’s identities, addresses, and telephone numbers in the event a proposal is selected.  Personal data may be stored for as long as it is required for DTAG and TMUSA to be able to exercise their rights described in the section “Right of Use” (right to obtain a license, right of first refusal, etc.). Additionally, if the participant has given its explicit written consent to the storing of its personal data for networking purposes, i.e.for fostering the exchange of information with Telekom and other people, personal data may be stored and used for eighteen (18) months after the Award Ceremony in Bonn. Telekom is entitled to store non personal data for an indefinite period of time.

Confidentiality

You will treat all Confidential Information which you receive from DTAG or TMUS or from both, or which becomes known to you as such, strictly confidentially during the T Challenge and until five (5) years from the date of the award ceremony, keep it secret from third parties, and use it only for the purpose of working on your proposal. You may disclose Confidential Information to other members of your team but must not disclose Confidential Information to third parties without the prior written consent of the original disclosing party.

The confidentiality obligations do not apply to information (i) that is generally known or becomes known without breach of these Rules, (ii) that is disclosed to you by a third party without restrictions, (iii) that you can prove you already possessed before your application to the T Challenge Program, came into effect or developed independently later.

Confidential Information in terms of these Rules is all information of DTAG or TMUS or both, whether disclosed in writing, in other tangible form, orally or visually, and irrespective if labelled or identified as “confidential” or not, in particular all business and technical information, including formulas, intentions, experiences, insights, ideas, know-how, designs, data, drawings, and objects, unless it is specifically designated as non-confidential or by nature is obviously non-confidential.

Marketing & Publicity

Except where prohibited, you consent to Telekom’s use of your name, likeness, biographical information, and voice in advertising, publicity, trade, and other marketing and promotional materials (including video, audio, and print through all means of distribution) worldwide without compensation, notice or approval in perpetuity across all media now known or later developed, and you disclaim any ownership rights to the content of such materials.

Representations and Warranties

You represent and warrant that:
(a) your receipt of any Award is neither prohibited nor inconsistent with any applicable laws, regulations, or binding orders, including applicable ethics rules or internal institutional rules;
(b) you have completed or will complete all legal and ethical requirements necessary to accept the Award;
(c) your receipt of the Award will not create a conflict of interest for DTAG and TMUSA or their affiliates;
(d) you do not participate in, nor have any decision-making authority over, any procurements or purchasing decisions involving DTAG and TMUSA or their affiliates on behalf of your organization;
(e) you will properly book and record the Award in your accounting documents in accordance with applicable laws and regulations;
(f) you will treat all Confidential Information which you will receive from DTAG or TMUS or both confidentially in accordance with the provisions under the header “Confidentiality”; and
(g) all persons involved in the live presentation of your submission during the development phase are full of age and of full legal capacity.

In the event that your representations and warranties under this section are or become inaccurate, you must notify Telekom immediately and any Award you receive will be voidable. The decision on the invalidation of the Award will be at the full discretion of Telekom.

Telekom also reserves the right to limit or abandon the challenge or award a lower number of prizes than described above if in its opinion the challenge´s aims cannot be achieved or can only be achieved inadequately (in particular because of the low number of participants or the low quality of submissions).

Customer Agreement / Limitation of Liability

By submitting your idea via the online tool, you accept the conditions stated in these official rules, agree to be bound by the decisions of Telekom, and warrant that you are eligible to participate in the T Challenge Program. Each participant and the Team Leader hereby releases Telekom from, and waives any and all claims against Telekom for, any losses, liability, and damages of any kind, (including for any loss of data, lost profits, cost of cover or other special, incidental, consequential, indirect, punitive, exemplary or reliance damage) incurred or sustained in connection with or rising out of (1) the T Challenge Program and/or any travelling or other activity related thereto, (2) use of any proposal and/or rights therein, or (3) any breach of any agreement or warranty associated with the T Challenge Program, including these official rules, however caused and regardless of the theory of liability.

Telekom and its partners reserve the right to amend any of these rules at its sole discretion by posting the revised terms on the T Challenge Program website. Your continued participation in the T Challenge Program after the effective date of the revised rules constitutes your acceptance of the amended rules. These T Challenge Rules are governed by the laws of Germany, except the conflict of law rules.

Telekom will use its best efforts to apply only objective criteria (e.g. innovativeness, feasibility and commercial/economic interest of the submitted technical solution, etc.) to award the prizes to the best submissions. Any legal recourse is excluded.

Invitations of Telekom to participate in the T Challenge, as well as calls for submissions sent out by Telekom, are generated automatically solely to announce and inform about the upcoming T Challenge, without any prior examination as to whether the addressees are eligible for the T Challenge and whether they have any chances of success, which will only be decided after the submission phase. Any investments made by a participant for or in connection with his/her submission and participation in the T Challenge, even during the development phase or the Award Ceremony, whether in alignment with the mentor or not, are solely made at the participant’s risk. Telekom will not bear or reimburse any costs except those explicitly mentioned in the present T Challenge Rules.

If Telekom is prevented from continuing the T Challenge, or the integrity and/or feasibility of the T Challenge is undermined by any event including, but not limited to, fire, flood, epidemic, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, satellite or equipment failure, riot or civil disturbance, war (declared or undeclared), terrorist threat or activity, or any applicable law, order, or regulation, order of any court or jurisdiction, or by other cause not reasonably within Telekom’s control (each a “Force Majeure” event), Telekom shall have the right, in its discretion, to abbreviate, modify, suspend, cancel, or terminate the T Challenge without further obligation. If Telekom, in its sole discretion, elects to abbreviate the T Challenge as a result of a Force Majeure event, Telekom reserves the right, but shall have no obligation, to award the prizes from among all valid and eligible entries received up to the time of such Force Majeure event.

Any disagreement or dispute which may arise in connection with these T Challenge Rules which cannot be settled amicably will be brought before the courts of Bonn, Germany.