General Electric Co. PLC of the United Kingdom agreed to acquire U.S.-based reltec Corp.

General Electric Co. PLC of the United Kingdom agreed to acquire U.S.-based reltec Corp. (Cleveland, OH) for $2.1 billion in cash and assumed debt. GEC is expanding its presence in telecommunications just six weeks after the company announced it would sell its defense-electronics business to British Aerospace PLC for $12.5 billion. GEC is looking to reltec, a manufacturer of digital loop carrier equipment, to expand its communications equipment business and give it a foothold in the North American market. GEC is unrelated to General Electric Co. of the United States. Meanwhile, reltec announced its "Deep Fiber Solutions" approach is being applied by Gainesville Regional Utilities to deliver broadband high-speed data services to residential subscribers in the Gainesville, FL, area. The Deep Fiber approach extends digital fiber-optic capabilities to within 500 ft of the subscriber. High-speed 10-Mbit/sec transmission becomes possible without any additional modulation electronics at the customer`s premises.