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From...

Euro telcos open U.S. Net research center

December 2, 1998
Web posted at: 2:30 PM EST

by Kristi Essick

PARIS (IDG) -- Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom have teamed up to open a joint research and development center in Silicon Valley called ThinkOne.

The new venture stems from France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom's recent cross-shareholding agreement, which was officially completed Tuesday, the companies said in a statement. Under the terms of an earlier agreement, each company acquired 2 percent of the other with an aim to develop and offer joint services worldwide.

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France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom have previously announced plans to cooperate on international research and development, as well as the deployment of new services, but today's announcement is one of the most concrete steps toward this goal so far.

ThinkOne will be a 50-50 joint venture between the two telcos, combining their existing R&D facilities in the region, Deutsche Telekom Advanced Solutions and France Telecom Research & Development. The center's main objective will be to conduct research into Internet-related technologies, as well as multimedia and data transmission services and mobile telephony. ThinkOne will evaluate possible products, test and integrate new technologies into existing products and develop software, the companies said.

The research and development activities at ThinkOne will be conducted in conjunction with projects being undertaken in Germany and France at the telcos' other research facilities. Initially, the center will have 30 employees, but the company hopes to hire 20 more people in the near future. Being based in Brisbane, a city south of San Francisco, ThinkOne will seek relationships with Silicon Valley companies in its quest to develop new technologies, according to the statement.

In other news, France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom Tuesday completed their cross-shareholding agreement, announced last year. According to Tuesday's final agreement, Deutsche Telekom has purchased 20.49 million shares in France Telecom from the French government, while France Telecom has purchased 54.87 million shares in Deutsche Telekom.

Yesterday, France Telecom said it was selling its shares to Deutsche Telekom for 390 francs per share, making the deal worth almost 8 billion francs. Meanwhile, it said it would pay 8.2 billion francs for its 2 percent stake in Deutsche Telekom.

Kristi Essick writes for the IDG News Service in Paris.

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