Telia Purchases French and Italian Assets of KPNQwest

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, July 10 -- Telia International Carrier said it has strengthened its position in France and Italy by expanding its fully owned Viking Network through the purchase of assets of a French subsidiary of KPNQwest.

Through the deal with KPNQwest's liquidator, Telia IC gets access to a duct-based high-capacity network between Paris-Lille and Paris-Kehl (Germany), including a metro ring in Paris. Installed IP, SDH and DWDM equipment is an important part of the agreement.

The deal will also include the routes Paris-Lyon-Marseille-Turin-Milano, Lyon-Geneva and Lille-Calais, if current third-party maintenance suppliers provide conditions at market rate.