BHP Billiton Signs US $27Million Equant IP VPN Services Agreement
Announcement posted by Equant 22 Apr 2002
Contract marks major milestone as the Australia-based global resources conglomerate becomes Equants 500th IP VPN customer
Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU) has signed a three-year, US$27 million agreement with BHP Billiton for the provision of a wide area network (WAN) solution based on Equants flagship IP VPN service.
Following a competitive bidding process, BHP Billiton, the worlds largest resources group, selected Equant as the exclusive provider of its global network, including 127 sites on five continents. Equant will migrate BHP Billiton from its current frame relay network managed by various service providers around the world to a single, private IP VPN network, based on MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) technology.
As part of the customized solution, Equant will provide a range of project management and consulting services for end-to-end management of BHP Billitons next-generation global network. This management will be coordinated by a team of Equant account managers in South Africa, the U.K. and the U.S., all working under a global team director based in Australia.
Equant IP VPN will benefit BHP Billiton in a number of ways. Its any-to-any connectivity will allow each BHP Billiton business unit to access data directly anywhere in the world, improving efficiency and cost effectiveness. The MPLS-based network can carry a wide range of BHP Billiton data, video and voice services simultaneously. Equant IP VPN classes of services also permit prioritization of this diverse network traffic, permitting a high degree of flexibility to support BHP Billitons expansion and changing business applications.
BHP Billiton Chief Information Officer Cassandra Matthews said: When BHP Limited and Billiton Plc merged in June 2001, the Group quickly recognized the need for a single global provider to manage its network worldwide.
Given the diversity and remoteness of many of our assets around the globe, the ability to communicate between all operations is paramount to BHP Billitons success. Our users told us that they required reliable, global connectivity which also provided the ability to rapidly manage bandwidth growth in every location.
Equant was able to deliver this at a competitive price, which will result in significant cost savings for BHP Billiton and positions us well to meet the future network requirements of the Group.
In addition, Equants position as the preeminent global provider of managed network services, such as Equant IP VPN, made it a perfect match for us.
Equant Australasia Managing Director Richard Knott said: We focus on meeting the demanding and complex telecommunications needs of large multinational corporations such as BHP Billiton. Our market-leading Equant IP VPN solution, adopted now by 500 such MNCs, is one of our primary tools for achieving that objective.
The BHP Billiton contract marks a major milestone for Equant: the Australian-based company is the 500th customer for Equant IP VPN, covering more than 12,000 customer sites, a far greater number than that of any similar competing service. Launched in August 1999, Equant IP VPN was the industrys first MPLS-based IP VPN solution and is the most extensively deployed service today, with availability in more than 135 countries and territories.
It stands at the heart of Equants extensive product and services portfolio, offering multinational corporations a reliable, leading-edge platform for converged services.
Equant IP VPN enables universal access to network resources for both fixed-site and mobile users. Major companies worldwide are benefiting from the cost effectiveness and simplified management of Equant IP VPN, with automatic any-to-any connectivity to easily support expansion and other organizational changes. Equant IP VPN offers customers the best selection available of converged voice services with its Voice for IP VPN wide area network and IP Telephony local area network (LAN) service options.
In March 2002, Equant won Frost & Sullivans 2002 Market Engineering Company of the Year Award for its Voice for IP VPN service and earlier, in October 2001, the No. 1 industry position of Equant IP VPN was recognized by Frost & Sullivans Global Marketing Strategy Award.
About BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is the worlds largest diversified resources group. Formed through a merger of BHP Limited and Billiton Plc in June 2001, the Group occupies industry-leader, or near leader, positions in aluminium, metallurgical coal, seaborne energy coal, copper, ferro-alloys, iron ore and titanium minerals. The Group also has substantial worldwide interests in oil, gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), nickel, diamonds and silver. Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, BHP Billiton has a significant corporate management presence in London, as well as corporate centers in Johannesburg, South Africa and Houston, USA. It has a market capitalization of about US$31 billion.
About Equant
Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU) is a recognized industry leader in global IP and data services for multinational businesses, offering network, integration and managed services to global business. The network has unmatched seamless global reach, connecting key business centers in 220 countries and territories, with local support in 145 countries and territories. Building on more than 50 years of experience in data communications, Equant serves thousands of the worlds top companies. Equant, a member of the France Telecom Group, meets the diverse needs of global companies with the industrys most extensive portfolio of managed data network services. Equants 2001 revenues, on a pro forma basis, were more than $3 billion.
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This release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements related to Equant that involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that these statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Equant with the SEC, specifically the most recent filing on Form 20-F and the submission on Form 6-K containing the shareholders circular, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including, among other things, risks relating to Equants history of operating losses, the unpredictability of growth in Equants markets, Equants rapid growth, changing technology, uncertain and changing regulatory restrictions, Equants international operations, dependence on suppliers, network security issues, competition, and volatility of Equants stock price and risks relating to the combination with Global One. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Equant on the date hereof, and Equant assumes no obligation to update such statements
Following a competitive bidding process, BHP Billiton, the worlds largest resources group, selected Equant as the exclusive provider of its global network, including 127 sites on five continents. Equant will migrate BHP Billiton from its current frame relay network managed by various service providers around the world to a single, private IP VPN network, based on MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) technology.
As part of the customized solution, Equant will provide a range of project management and consulting services for end-to-end management of BHP Billitons next-generation global network. This management will be coordinated by a team of Equant account managers in South Africa, the U.K. and the U.S., all working under a global team director based in Australia.
Equant IP VPN will benefit BHP Billiton in a number of ways. Its any-to-any connectivity will allow each BHP Billiton business unit to access data directly anywhere in the world, improving efficiency and cost effectiveness. The MPLS-based network can carry a wide range of BHP Billiton data, video and voice services simultaneously. Equant IP VPN classes of services also permit prioritization of this diverse network traffic, permitting a high degree of flexibility to support BHP Billitons expansion and changing business applications.
BHP Billiton Chief Information Officer Cassandra Matthews said: When BHP Limited and Billiton Plc merged in June 2001, the Group quickly recognized the need for a single global provider to manage its network worldwide.
Given the diversity and remoteness of many of our assets around the globe, the ability to communicate between all operations is paramount to BHP Billitons success. Our users told us that they required reliable, global connectivity which also provided the ability to rapidly manage bandwidth growth in every location.
Equant was able to deliver this at a competitive price, which will result in significant cost savings for BHP Billiton and positions us well to meet the future network requirements of the Group.
In addition, Equants position as the preeminent global provider of managed network services, such as Equant IP VPN, made it a perfect match for us.
Equant Australasia Managing Director Richard Knott said: We focus on meeting the demanding and complex telecommunications needs of large multinational corporations such as BHP Billiton. Our market-leading Equant IP VPN solution, adopted now by 500 such MNCs, is one of our primary tools for achieving that objective.
The BHP Billiton contract marks a major milestone for Equant: the Australian-based company is the 500th customer for Equant IP VPN, covering more than 12,000 customer sites, a far greater number than that of any similar competing service. Launched in August 1999, Equant IP VPN was the industrys first MPLS-based IP VPN solution and is the most extensively deployed service today, with availability in more than 135 countries and territories.
It stands at the heart of Equants extensive product and services portfolio, offering multinational corporations a reliable, leading-edge platform for converged services.
Equant IP VPN enables universal access to network resources for both fixed-site and mobile users. Major companies worldwide are benefiting from the cost effectiveness and simplified management of Equant IP VPN, with automatic any-to-any connectivity to easily support expansion and other organizational changes. Equant IP VPN offers customers the best selection available of converged voice services with its Voice for IP VPN wide area network and IP Telephony local area network (LAN) service options.
In March 2002, Equant won Frost & Sullivans 2002 Market Engineering Company of the Year Award for its Voice for IP VPN service and earlier, in October 2001, the No. 1 industry position of Equant IP VPN was recognized by Frost & Sullivans Global Marketing Strategy Award.
About BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is the worlds largest diversified resources group. Formed through a merger of BHP Limited and Billiton Plc in June 2001, the Group occupies industry-leader, or near leader, positions in aluminium, metallurgical coal, seaborne energy coal, copper, ferro-alloys, iron ore and titanium minerals. The Group also has substantial worldwide interests in oil, gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), nickel, diamonds and silver. Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, BHP Billiton has a significant corporate management presence in London, as well as corporate centers in Johannesburg, South Africa and Houston, USA. It has a market capitalization of about US$31 billion.
About Equant
Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU) is a recognized industry leader in global IP and data services for multinational businesses, offering network, integration and managed services to global business. The network has unmatched seamless global reach, connecting key business centers in 220 countries and territories, with local support in 145 countries and territories. Building on more than 50 years of experience in data communications, Equant serves thousands of the worlds top companies. Equant, a member of the France Telecom Group, meets the diverse needs of global companies with the industrys most extensive portfolio of managed data network services. Equants 2001 revenues, on a pro forma basis, were more than $3 billion.
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This release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements related to Equant that involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that these statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Equant with the SEC, specifically the most recent filing on Form 20-F and the submission on Form 6-K containing the shareholders circular, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including, among other things, risks relating to Equants history of operating losses, the unpredictability of growth in Equants markets, Equants rapid growth, changing technology, uncertain and changing regulatory restrictions, Equants international operations, dependence on suppliers, network security issues, competition, and volatility of Equants stock price and risks relating to the combination with Global One. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Equant on the date hereof, and Equant assumes no obligation to update such statements