Not so long ago, the news that NTT Communications Corp. (NYSE: NTT) is expanding its European presence with a number of additional IP VPN points of presence (POPs) would have raised few eyebrows.

Times have changed, though. The international service provider is moving ever closer to completing its acquisition of global IT services firm Dimension Data Holdings plc (London: DDT), a move that casts a new light on any expansion of NTT Com's network presence. (See DiData Deal Spells Bad News for SIs and NTT Splashes $3.2B on DiData.)

But that's not all -- the Japanese carrier has also recently acquired Swedish managed security services specialist Secode AB, and last year bought IT services firm Integralis. (See NTT Buys More Euro Smarts and NTT Beefs Up in Europe.)

So it's likely that rivals such as AT&T Global Network Services , BT Global Services , Orange Business Services , T-Systems International GmbH , and Verizon Enterprise Solutions will now be paying a lot more attention to NTT Com's growth plans, which include new VPN POPs in the German cities of Hamburg and Munich, Polish capital Warsaw, Stockholm in Sweden, and Madrid in Spain. (See AT&T Preps for Euro Cloudburst.)

NTT says it has been using local partners to deliver its services in Spain, Sweden, and Poland, and that the addition of these POPs will enable it to increase the quality of its managed IP VPN services (called Arcstar) and reduce costs.

The Japanese operator isn't the only Asia/Pacific giant looking to make its mark in Europe through the combination of network and IT assets: China Telecom Corp. Ltd. (NYSE: CHA) is currently assessing its IT services M&A options as it looks to grow its business in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). (See China Telecom Plans Euro M&A and China Telecom Opens African POPs.)

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading