BT has signed an agreement with the Russian alternative telco Golden Telecom that will give it access to the latter’s backbone network. It will allow BT to extend the scope of its advanced services in Russia and give Golden Telecom’s customers access to global BT’s 21 Century Network. Golden Telecom and its subsidiary Corbina Telecom are currently in the process of rolling out FTTB networks in around 65 Russian cities. These will eventually offer broadband Internet and triple play services to 65 million people, or almost 45% of the population.