German telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom plans to float part of its internet services provider, T-Online, according to a report.

Deutsche Telekom says no final decision has been taken yet.

The Financial Times newspaper quoted documents drawn up by the company in December. It said the flotation had been scheduled for between 3 April and 20 April.

A preliminary valuation has valued T-Online at up to $15-to-$17 billion, the documents reportedly said.

An April float date for T-Online avoids a clash with the expected sale of a third tranche of Deutsche Telekom, which the company wants to take place from the middle of this year.

T-Online has four million subscribers.

Deutsche Telekom valued the company by comparing its subscriber base with that of Freeserve, spun off by retailer Dixons, and Freenet, the ISP owned by Germany's Mobilcom.

The proceeds from the flotation are likely to be used to finance other internet-related acquisitions.