Also. . .

Telus Corp. and BC Telecom Inc., Canada’s second- and third-largest telephone companies, agreed to a “merger of equals” valued at $3.14 billion to compete with the No. 1 Bell Canada, a unit of BCE Inc. The two companies said they also have reached an agreement to acquire fiber-optic telecommunications lines in the most densely populated areas of eastern Canada and in Washington state and upstate New York. GTE Corp., which owns slightly more than 50% of BC Telecom, is backing the merger and will have a 26% stake in the new company.