Williams Communications and Telia Enter Into Network Agreements Totaling $440 Million; Williams Communications Gains Extensive European Assets and Additional Trans-Atlantic Capacity; Telia Acquires United States Footprint
March 1, 2000 07:35 AM
TULSA, Okla., March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- In a transaction with a total market value of more than $440 million that significantly underscores both companies' roles as global telecommunications providers, Williams Communications WCG and Swedish network operator, Telia will provide each other with network fiber and services outside their existing regions as part of a 20-year agreement.
Williams Communications, an international provider of telecommunications services and products for the carrier marketplace, has the largest next-generation network in the United States. Under this agreement, Williams acquires dark fibers on Telia's 28,000-mile fiber-optic network throughout Europe. This network will reach: Sweden, Norway and Finland to the north; Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to the east; and covers the central and western European markets of Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Under the agreement, Williams also obtains significant additional capacity on the TAT-14 trans-Atlantic cable system scheduled for operation by the end of this year. Williams is connecting to this international gateway at landing points in New Jersey, using the connectivity to strengthen access from international markets to its U.S. network.
In return, Telia will receive 11,000 route miles of fiber on Williams Communications' U.S. fiber-optic network, connecting the European carrier to major cities in the United States.
As part of the agreement, the companies will provide each other with co-location space and ongoing network maintenance services on their respective networks.
These assets complement the Pan-European capacity Williams Communications is receiving through its agreement with Teleglobe, under which Williams obtained capacity connecting: London; Brussels; Amsterdam; Strasbourg and Paris in France; and Dusseldorf and Frankfurt in Germany. Williams Communications also has TAT-14 trans-Atlantic capacity connecting New York to London through its agreement with Pacific Gateway Exchange, Inc.
"Williams Communications has already established its presence in the United States as the leading provider of end-to-end network services for the carrier marketplace," said Howard E. Janzen, president and chief executive officer of Williams Communications. "We have rapidly forged a significant European stronghold and will continue this aggressive expansion into other international regions to provide our customers with the same level of high-quality services on a global basis."
Williams Communications has the largest next-generation fiber-optic network in the United States with 26,000 route miles of fiber currently deployed, 24,000 miles lit and 33,000 planned route miles connecting 125 cities by the end of this year. The fully integrated architecture of the Williams Multi-Service Broadband Network(TM) couples ATM core switching with advanced optical networking technologies to provide carriers with data, voice, video and Internet services over any platform.
This agreement confirms Telia's strategy to build a global networking infrastructure. The agreement with Williams Communications boosts Telia's North American presence to more than 19,700 route miles of fiber covering 66 major United States cities. Telia's initial step will be to offer services to the 17 largest cities in the network including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
"For some time now, Telia has been making major investments in the international telecom wholesalers' market. Our goal is to become one of the three largest providers in Europe, and now we're expanding into the United States as well," said Marianne Nivert, president of Telia Network Services AB.
"Now Telia will be able to offer our customers connectivity over our fully owned and operated networks, all the way from the United States to Europe," added Magnus Kjell, president of Telia North America, Inc.
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