 | | | | Equant launches Small Office Solutions New Portfolio Enhances Network Optimization and Offers Customers Tailor-made Services for Branch Offices
| Paris - April 4, 2005 - Equant today unveiled a portfolio of Small Office Solutions designed to provide customers with unprecedented flexibility in connecting smaller sites to the corporate VPN. |
| Small Office Solutions offers three DSL-based service packages that allow customers to pick the performance and support level they need at different sites throughout their global VPN. A key benefit of Small Office Solutions is the fully inclusive package that bundles the router, the access and IP bandwidth together. Equant consulting services help customers select among the three service packages and can also provide guidance on related issues such as security, bandwidth management techniques and total cost of ownership analysis. |
- Advantage DSL is aimed at smaller offices such as retail outlets with up to five users, has full helpdesk back up and can replace dial-up and VSAT connections with a higher speed, always-on and fixed-cost solution.
- Select DSL caters to larger offices such as industrial warehouses or sales offices with up to 25 users and offers business-class ADSL, service SLAs and connectivity into the Equant MPLS IP VPN.
- Premier DSL is aimed at branch offices with up to 50 users and offers SDSL, IP VPN Gold, and service and performance SLAs covering availability and other benchmarks. This offering is a replacement for leased line applications.
| Thanks to Equant's broad portfolio of services, customer VPNs are not limited to a single technology, with a uniform set of rules and service levels. The new generation of VPN is now a combination of sites connected using the best available technology according to various business requirements. This is how Equant builds Network Optimization Solutions. The primary benefits of broadband-based services are higher speeds, always-on connections and predictable cost. With Small Office Solutions, customers also benefit from increased flexibility, consistent service and a single global provider. In addition, a dedicated team, called the DSL Center of Excellence, is in charge of Small Office Solutions installation with a clear objective to deliver customer satisfaction globally through timely implementation. |
| Equant sees interest in broadband services across all sectors, but particularly in retail and automotive where the desire to connect many small sites in support of supply chain management and customer relationship management applications is key. Small Office Solutions is available in 41 countries, with additional countries planned, and benefits from the France Telecom Group's strong position in DSL services. |
| "We already see significant up-take by companies in Europe of business-grade DSL," said Jean-Paul Nussbaumer, head of Access and Small Office Services, Equant. "Customers understand that this is an excellent option to efficiently and cost-effectively connect branch offices to the corporate VPN. We are already planning enhancements that will make this offer even more attractive for customers needing to creatively connect small offices." |
About Equant | Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU) is a recognized industry leader in global communications services for multinational businesses. Equant combines its network expertise with its expanded services capabilities to provide global, integrated and customized communication services to enable its customers' key business processes. Equant serves thousands of the world's top companies, with the industry's most extensive portfolio of communications services and network solutions, including the market-leading IP VPN used by nearly 1,300 global businesses. Equant, a subsidiary of France Telecom, consistently leads industry surveys in corporate user satisfaction.
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 SEC Form 20-F, which identifies 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 our history of operating losses, the unpredictability of growth in our industry, the fact that the interests of France Telecom, our largest shareholder, may differ from the interests of our other shareholders, changing technology, uncertain and changing regulatory restrictions, currency fluctuations, dependence on suppliers, network security issues, intense competition in our industry and volatility of our stock price. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Equant on the date hereof, and Equant assumes no obligation to update such statements.
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