Williams Communications plans to buy interest in undersea cables

Thursday, April 13th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Tulsa, Oklahoma-AP) -- Officials say Tulsa-based Williams Communications will acquire gateways to Asia in a deal to buy S-B-C Communications' interest in two undersea communications cables.

Williams Communications announced the agreement yesterday to buy the San Antonio-based company's stake in cables linking the United States with China and Japan.

The deal gives S-B-C access to long-haul transport capacity for its voice and data business. It provides Williams with an anchor tenant for its fiber-optic network, expected to soon reach more than 125 markets nationwide and countries around the world.

The U-S-China cable is operational and the U-S-Japan cable is expected to be operational by the third or fourth quarter this year.