Briefs: Russia's Golden Telecom ups Rascom stake

Golden Telecom has gained controlling interest in Russian telecom infrastructure operator ZAO Rascom.

Golden Telecom announced Tuesday it had purchased another 5 percent of Rascom, gaining a 54-percent stake in the company, which operates infrastructure linking Moscow, St. Petersburg and the frontier area with Finland -- areas in which Golden Telecom's traffic rate is particularly heavy.

Golden CEO Jean-Pierre Vandromme said in a statement that the deal "will give our company an opportunity to actively expand its services and projects that require considerable trunking capacity, such as, broadband access and the deployment of the Federal Transit Network."

Golden Telecom provides integrated telecom and Internet services in many of Russia's major population centers.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International