Ikea thinks it's an internet data carrier

Swedish furniture giant Ikea has stepped where others feared to tread and acquired parts of KPNQwest's Nordic fibre optic network.

Although fibre optic networks are not normally what you would expect to find on the shelves at the flat-packed furniture business, Ikea thinks differently.

A spokeswoman for the company confirmed the acquisition, although she was not able to explain the rationale behind the plan.

Reports speculate that Ikea will use its new business for internal communications and that it will eventually sell the network on.