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 (NYSE: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.

http://www.williams.com/news/newsreleases/rel478.html

Related story: Worldwide Fiber and Telia Swap Fiber