Equant Reaches Another Milestone As JT International Becomes 800th IP VPN Customer
Announcement posted by Equant 14 May 2003
Equant will link 11,000 JTI employees at 230 sites in 40+ countries with a converged network solution that includes IP Telephony and Web Hosting
Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU), a recognized industry leader in global IP and data service for multinational businesses, has won a four-year, multimillion dollar agreement to implement the 230-site, worldwide network of JT International (JTI), the international operating division of Japan Tobacco, Inc.
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, JTI has three of the worlds top five cigarette brands Mild Seven, Camel and Winston which are sold in more than 120 countries. JTI is Equants 800th IP VPN customer, and its 230 sites bring total customer locations for the industrys leading MPLS-based solution to more than 25,000 far exceeding any similar competing service.
JTI has been an Equant customer since 1995, previously using Equant Frame Relay services for its international backbone. Under the new contract, the Equant IP VPN solution will connect JTIs 11,000 employees at its headquarters, offices and plants in more than 40 countries throughout Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.
We wanted to integrate voice, IP and data on the same high-speed network for cost-saving efficiencies in terms of IT staff and for the easy rollout of new productivity-enhancing applications such as SAP, said Bill Freyer, vice president of Information Technology, JTI. Equants unmatched global presence assured us that theyd be able to manage the project anywhere in the world.
Speaking at Equants sixth annual Connect customer conference in Barcelona, DidierDelepine, Equants president and CEO, said: We are happy to have worked closely with JT International over the last eight years on customized solutions with world-class technology and service. We welcome them as our 800th IP VPN customer and look forward to expanding this new solution to meet their growing requirements.
The multi-faceted solution gives JTI the capabilities it needs for a truly global convergence strategy. The MPLS technology of Equant IP VPN will allow JTI to prioritize mission-critical traffic using up to five classes of service (CoS), the most available today. Equant IP VPN will maximize efficiency of SAP and Siebel software applications on the network and the integration of JTIs domestic networks for additional cost savings. The contract includes many other unique features of Equants comprehensive portfolio of professional and managed products and services:
Equant IP Telephony JTI will be one of Equants largest desktop-to-desktop IP Telephony customers on a worldwide basis. Equant IP Telephony has already been deployed in JTIs new Manchester, U.K., business service center in just two months, with full redundancy assuring that all equipment, designs and management will support 100 percent uptime. JTI also plans to deploy Equants IPT solution at its call centers in Malaysia and Canada.
Equant Voice for VPN Will provide JTIs worldwide voice requirements. Three main sites in Geneva, Moscow and Paris have been connected.
Equant Secure Gateway Will ensure end-to-end network security. Equant will manage the companys firewalls in Geneva, Hong Kong and Toronto to control access to the network while permitting JTI employees to access the Internet securely.
Equant Server Management Will be provided at Equants Rennes, France data center. These include Web site management, technology upgrades, service reliability and support, bandwidth management and security expertise, allowing JTI to focus on its core business.
We are already seeing a return on investment and have found out how much more efficient our business can be, Freyer added. Equant has supplied excellent support to us over the years and is viewed as one of our most trusted advisors.
According to JTI, Equant was chosen as its global provider for several reasons including:
Successful eight-year business relationship including strong account management.
Unmatched geographic coverage.
Equant IP VPN was deemed to be a better technical solution especially for convergence than those proposed by competitors.
Voice quality for Equant Voice for IP VPN was judged by JTI as excellent and superior to VoIP solutions offered by competitors.
About Equant
Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU) is a recognized industry leader in global data and IP network and integration services for multinational businesses. The Equant network has unmatched seamless reach, connecting key business centers in 220 countries and territories, with local support in 191 countries. Building on more than 50 years of experience in data communications, Equant serves thousands of the worlds top companies with the industrys most extensive portfolio of managed network services, including the market-leading IP VPN used by 800 global businesses as of May 13, 2003. Equant, a member of the France Telecom Group, was named Best Global Carrier 2002 at the World Communication Awards and consistently leads industry surveys in corporate user satisfaction.
About JT International
JT International is the international subsidiary of Japan Tobacco, Inc., which is the worlds third largest manufacturer of tobacco products with net sales of US$36 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003, and has three of the worlds top five international cigarette brands, Mild Seven, Camel and Winston in its product portfolio. With headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, JT International has offices in more than 40 countries around the world with over 11,000 employees and sales activities in over 120 countries.
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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, 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.
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, JTI has three of the worlds top five cigarette brands Mild Seven, Camel and Winston which are sold in more than 120 countries. JTI is Equants 800th IP VPN customer, and its 230 sites bring total customer locations for the industrys leading MPLS-based solution to more than 25,000 far exceeding any similar competing service.
JTI has been an Equant customer since 1995, previously using Equant Frame Relay services for its international backbone. Under the new contract, the Equant IP VPN solution will connect JTIs 11,000 employees at its headquarters, offices and plants in more than 40 countries throughout Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.
We wanted to integrate voice, IP and data on the same high-speed network for cost-saving efficiencies in terms of IT staff and for the easy rollout of new productivity-enhancing applications such as SAP, said Bill Freyer, vice president of Information Technology, JTI. Equants unmatched global presence assured us that theyd be able to manage the project anywhere in the world.
Speaking at Equants sixth annual Connect customer conference in Barcelona, DidierDelepine, Equants president and CEO, said: We are happy to have worked closely with JT International over the last eight years on customized solutions with world-class technology and service. We welcome them as our 800th IP VPN customer and look forward to expanding this new solution to meet their growing requirements.
The multi-faceted solution gives JTI the capabilities it needs for a truly global convergence strategy. The MPLS technology of Equant IP VPN will allow JTI to prioritize mission-critical traffic using up to five classes of service (CoS), the most available today. Equant IP VPN will maximize efficiency of SAP and Siebel software applications on the network and the integration of JTIs domestic networks for additional cost savings. The contract includes many other unique features of Equants comprehensive portfolio of professional and managed products and services:
Equant IP Telephony JTI will be one of Equants largest desktop-to-desktop IP Telephony customers on a worldwide basis. Equant IP Telephony has already been deployed in JTIs new Manchester, U.K., business service center in just two months, with full redundancy assuring that all equipment, designs and management will support 100 percent uptime. JTI also plans to deploy Equants IPT solution at its call centers in Malaysia and Canada.
Equant Voice for VPN Will provide JTIs worldwide voice requirements. Three main sites in Geneva, Moscow and Paris have been connected.
Equant Secure Gateway Will ensure end-to-end network security. Equant will manage the companys firewalls in Geneva, Hong Kong and Toronto to control access to the network while permitting JTI employees to access the Internet securely.
Equant Server Management Will be provided at Equants Rennes, France data center. These include Web site management, technology upgrades, service reliability and support, bandwidth management and security expertise, allowing JTI to focus on its core business.
We are already seeing a return on investment and have found out how much more efficient our business can be, Freyer added. Equant has supplied excellent support to us over the years and is viewed as one of our most trusted advisors.
According to JTI, Equant was chosen as its global provider for several reasons including:
Successful eight-year business relationship including strong account management.
Unmatched geographic coverage.
Equant IP VPN was deemed to be a better technical solution especially for convergence than those proposed by competitors.
Voice quality for Equant Voice for IP VPN was judged by JTI as excellent and superior to VoIP solutions offered by competitors.
About Equant
Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU) is a recognized industry leader in global data and IP network and integration services for multinational businesses. The Equant network has unmatched seamless reach, connecting key business centers in 220 countries and territories, with local support in 191 countries. Building on more than 50 years of experience in data communications, Equant serves thousands of the worlds top companies with the industrys most extensive portfolio of managed network services, including the market-leading IP VPN used by 800 global businesses as of May 13, 2003. Equant, a member of the France Telecom Group, was named Best Global Carrier 2002 at the World Communication Awards and consistently leads industry surveys in corporate user satisfaction.
About JT International
JT International is the international subsidiary of Japan Tobacco, Inc., which is the worlds third largest manufacturer of tobacco products with net sales of US$36 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003, and has three of the worlds top five international cigarette brands, Mild Seven, Camel and Winston in its product portfolio. With headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, JT International has offices in more than 40 countries around the world with over 11,000 employees and sales activities in over 120 countries.
###
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, 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.