BT has announced a partnership with Russian telco Rostelecom that it claims will improve connectivity for its multi-national customers with operations in the country.

The new network interconnection agreement with Rostelecom will significantly improve its ability to service its corporate customers across Russia with its BT Connect portfolio of intelligent network services, it says, will improve access to "mission critical" applications for leading enterprises in financial services, manufacturing, logistics, pharmaceutical and oil and gas industries in the country.

The UK telecoms operator claims to already serve around 400 large organisations in Russia, including many of the world’s leading global multinational companies with operations in the company.

“While the global economy is more unbalanced than ever, a growing number of multinational companies are expanding in Russia, including in the financial services sector," said Luis Alvarez, BT president for EMEA and Latin America.

Rostelecom’s national network spans the whole country, and consists of approximately 500,000 km of backbone infrastructure. It provides services to around 43 million residential and commercial customers, including telephony, data, TV and value-added solutions.

"By substantially increasing the reach and capillarity of our network services across all Russian regions, this agreement with Rostelecom will help us maximize growth opportunities for our customers in important new markets,” Alvarez said.

Pavel Zaytsev, vice-president and commercial director at Rostelecom, said “We are very pleased that BT selected Rostelecom as its provider when expanding the reach of its network into Russia. I am particularly happy that our collaboration is mutually beneficial, providing customers of both operators with clear benefits as they expand into Russia or from Russia onto the global stage.”