Mobile phone operator One 2 One is to expand its service in Northern Ireland to cover 90 per cent of the Northby October 2000. The announcement marks the firm's first strategic expansion since Deutsche Telekom agreed a takeover of the British mobile business last month.

One 2 One has signed a £35 million sterling (€53 million) agreement with US communications group Castle Transmission International (CTI) to design a network of transmission stations across Northern Ireland.

"By using CTI's experience we will have a high quality network in place in Northern Ireland within the year," its managing director, Mr Tim Samples, said. The expansion has partly been made possible by the deal to sell One 2 One to Deutsche Telekom.

In August, the German group agreed a £8.4 billion deal to buy the mobile company from its joint owners Cable & Wireless and US company MediaOne.

"Deutsche Telekom ownership gives us more confidence to expand," a spokesman for One 2 One said. "Having two owners has always been difficult as far as investment was concerned."

The Northern Ireland expansion will see between 250 and 300 base stations set up to provide a One 2 One signal across the area.