7:45 AM -- German prosecutors have cleared Kai-Uwe Ricke and Klaus Zumwinkel, respectively the former CEO and chairman of Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT), of the spying charges that made big news in 2008. (See Spying Scandal Rocks Deutsche Telekom and DT Initiates Investigation.)

According to DMeurope, the prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence.

While the pair may have been found not guilty of organizing illegal spying on journalists, the carrier's board members, and works council representatives, Ricke and Zumwinkel appear to have been found culpable by their former employer of creating an environment where such illegal snooping could go ahead, and were reportedly last year asked to pay damages.

The carrier has also been rocked in recent years by the theft of customer data. (See DT Reports on Data Misuse, DT Plans Data Privacy Dept., and DT Tackles Data Theft.)

And DT isn't the only telecom sector company to be rocked by a spying scandal in recent times. (See More Snooping Scandal.)

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading