TWO of Telecom's Eireann's strategic alliance partners have formed a tighter business unit which the state operator says should ultimately lead to cheaper calls for Irish customers. Unisource, an alliance of KPN, of the Netherlands, Telia of Sweden and Swiss Telecom PTT said yesterday they were merging their international networks to create a $2 billion a year business. KPN and Telia are 20 per cent shareholders in Telecom Eireann.

The companies said the move would lead to cost savings of up to 30 per cent which would be passed on to customers in lower tariffs. "It will mean lower delivery costs for Telecom in Europe, savings which we will pass onto the customer," a spokesman for Telecom said last night.