The merger of two US telecommunications companies - US West and Global Crossing - will position the companies to seize a chunk of the trillion-dollar global telecoms market, the companies have said.

The fusion of `the baby bell', as US West is known, and Global Crossing, the telecoms infrastructure provider, will create a telecommunications giant with a market value of about $74 billion (#69.24 billion).

The company has a market capitalisation of $30 billion, with $424 million in revenues in 1998. The new company, to be called Global Crossing Corp, could rival the largest US telephone companies, including AT&T. It will be 50 per cent owned by Global Crossing/Frontier shareholders and 50 per cent by US West shareholders, the companies said in a statement issued yesterday.