Seven Telecoms Agree to DeployAsia-America Undersea Optical Cable

BEIJING, Nov. 1 -- Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., Korea Telecom and China Telecom, some of Asia's biggest telecommunications companies, have announced plans to build an undersea fiber cable linking Asia and America. Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom, Japan Telecom and US firms Metromedia Fiber Network and Williams Communications will also participate in the undersea cable operation, which will get underway in 2002, and have signed a memorandum of understanding on linking five countries and regions in Asia and America.