Deutsche Telekom aims to complete the merger of its T-Mobile U.S. unit with MetroPCS by the end of the second quarter of 2013, i.e. between April and June.

The deal will need U.S. regulatory approval and such processes typically take a considerable amount of time, but the second quarter of next year seems reasonable. Meanwhile, it remains uncertain how everything will work out, as it seems the carriers will continue to run as separate entities for a while.

"The transaction is not likely [to] be carried out until the second quarter of 2013," Deutsche Telekom Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Timotheus Hoettges told German publication Boersenzeitung.

Earlier this month, on Oct. 3, Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS said their planned to consolidate their American wireless services units in an effective reverse merger. Under this merger, U.S.-listed MetroPCS will buy T-Mobile U.S.

The merger between T-Mobile and MetroPCS marks a much-awaited consolidation in the U.S. mobile market. Once the deal is completed, Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile, the nation's fourth-largest mobile carrier, aims to reach the scale it needs to compete with giants AT&T and Verizon.

Moreover, the merger will also help Deutsche Telekom relieve some of the pressure of investing in the United States by making the local unit more independent, while also providing it with a liquid asset it can sell if it eventually decides to leave the U.S.

Hoettges also reiterated that the merger plans will not affect Deutsche Telekom's shareholder remuneration policy for 2012, and that shareholders are set to get a dividend of at least 0.70 euro ($0.91) per share for 2012.

"Given profits brought forward of 1.6 billion euros and retained earnings of 15.5 billion euros there can be no doubt in our ability to pay a dividend," Hoettgess told the German publication.

Until the merger closes, however, it remains unclear how it will all pan out. Previous reports suggested a complete shift from Metro's network to Magenta 3G radios, in a bid to free spectrum to build a more solid 4G LTE network.

While it is too early to tell now, a more solid 4G LTE network could help T-Mobile climb to the No. 3 spot in the list of top carriers. Verizon and AT&T are not likely to budge off their pedestals anytime soon, but the merger could be T-Mobile's chance to squeeze in the top 3.