Hey, T-Mobile customer, do you have any idea that your wireless carrier is actually owned and operated by German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom? No? Well, ignore everything I just said, because it probably won't be true soon.

If you're interested in why DT would spin off their entire US arm, it's just a matter of numbers:

T-Mobile USA has languished under perceptions that its wireless network is inferior and lacks reach, a major shortcoming as customers turn to their cell phones to surf the Internet and stream video. In the third quarter, 77,000 users walked away from T-Mobile USA, while AT&T and Verizon Wireless added millions of customers.

DT is a conservative company, T-Mobile USA, while massive, represents a fraction of their business, or a medium-sized liability, depending on how you look at it.

The excision could come as either a partial spinoff, a merger with another American carrier (and not an AT&T or a Verizon—we're talking the likes of MetroPCS), or an IPO. Whatever happens, we'll probably hear about it within "the next two months." [WSJ]