Telia and Worldwide Fiber announce landmark agreement to swap fiber optics in Europe and North America

Telia and Worldwide Fiber announce landmark agreement to swap fiber optics in Europe and North America Telia AB and Worldwide Fiber Inc today announced they will swap fiber optic network infrastructure and assets in Europe and North America. Telia will provide Worldwide Fiber with fiber optic facilities spanning a distance of 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, connecting 11 major European cities, including London, Paris and Frankfurt. - Telia's reputation as a quality network provider in Europe has now expanded globally. Our arrangement with Worldwide Fiber to expand our U.S. presence will afford us the opportunity to offer fiber optic services to both the European and U.S. wholesale market. We feel confident that our arrangement with Worldwide Fiber will help us to maintain our reputation as a provider of quality services as Telia builds its global network, stated Marianne Nivert, President, Telia Network Services. Telia will also provide Worldwide Fiber with equipment space in all of its major switching sites in these European cities. The network will be delivered to Worldwide Fiber starting in the first quarter of 2000, and will also be completed by year end. In return, Vancouver-based Worldwide Fiber, which is building an advanced global IP fiber optic network, will provide Sweden's Telia, one of Europe's leading telecommunications carriers, with a fiber optic network spanning 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) throughout North America and connecting 17 major U.S. cities. Worldwide Fiber will also provide Telia with equipment space in all of its major switching facilities in these cities, including New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston. The network will be delivered to Telia starting in the second quarter of 2000, and will be completed by the end of the year. - This network acquisition now enables us to provide point-to-point service between North America and Europe via our trans-Atlantic network and capitalize on the explosive growth of the Internet in Europe. It is a critical step in providing low-cost, seamless, distance indifferent service for our customers around the globe, said Greg Maffei, Chief Executive Officer of Worldwide Fiber. The opportunity to reach an international agreement of this magnitude with a prominent company like Telia is an extraordinary achievement, added Ron Stevenson, President of Worldwide Fiber. For Telia, the transaction represents one of many projects it is undertaking to establish a major presence in the U.S. market, and to offer its wholesale clients global connectivity. The deal means that Telia can transfer its rapidly growing capacity and IP business into a fully-owned cost-efficient fiber-based network in the U.S. The U.S. and European telecommunication markets combined represent roughly 80 per cent of global traffic. - Telia North America plans a major expansion in the U.S. to serve the U.S. telecom and IP markets with competitive wholesale offerings, not only in the U.S. but also on a global basis. The deal with Worldwide Fiber represents one step in our strategic direction to effectively compete in this arena, added Magnus Kjell, President of Telia North America. Forward looking statements: This document may contain statements about expected future events and financial results that are forward looking in nature, and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and certainties. Actual results may differ materially from those project by management. For such statements, we claim the safe harbour for "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For more information, please contact: Anna-Carin Uddenberg Press officer, Telia Network Services +46 8 713 28 42 anna-carin.a.uddenberg@telia.se Michelle Gagné Worldwide Fiber Inc. +1 604 681-1994, extension 504 michelle.gagne@wwfiber.com Telia is the leading supplier of telecom-based information services in the Nordic/Baltic region. The Telia strategy on the international carrier market is to immediately establish themselves as a carrier for IP-transit with a capacity for low network production costs. This entails large-scale network building and fiber sales. In addition, infra-structural investments will be made in own networks in Europe. Customer examples include Service Providers, Internet Service Providers, cell-phone service operators, fixed-net operators, cable televisions operators and those working with capacities. Annual turnover in 1998, reached 51 240 MSEK with 30 600 employees. Worldwide Fiber designs, builds and operates high-speed fiber-optic networks for communications carriers, Internet service providers and corporations with high-bandwidth network needs. Worldwide Fiber is currently completing a 45,000-kilometer (26,000-mile) terrestrial network in North America and Europe and a 12,200-kilometer (7,600-mile) trans- Atlantic network. Worldwide Fiber and its predecessors have been constructing communications networks since 1988. Additional information about Worldwide Fiber is available at www.worldwidefiber.com. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/01/24/20000124BIT00420/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/01/24/20000124BIT00420/bit0002.pdf