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Equant Signs Multi-Year Communications Outsourcing Deal With Universal Music Group

Posted on: Monday, 13 March 2006, 09:00 CST

Equant has signed an outsourcing contract with Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's leading music company, to transform its current network into a fully managed IP solution. The five-year deal, spanning 48 countries, covers all elements of UMG's communications infrastructure, including global WAN and LAN, managed voice and IP Telephony, mobility, web hosting and vendor management.

Key benefits for UMG from the agreement with Equant:

-- Global Reach. An MPLS-based IP VPN will reliably and securely connect UMG employees across 48 countries. The Global WAN and LANs easily connect new and existing users, and enable the delivery of critical applications.

-- Anytime/Anywhere Mobility. UMG will be connecting remote employees using Business Everywhere, Equant's integrated suite of mobility solutions. UMG will consolidate multiple solutions into a standard Business Everywhere solution and remote access will be available via any device and any type of access network, including Wi-Fi, DSL and cellular.

-- IP Convergence. UMG will now experience the collaborative benefits of convergence, including IP Video Conferencing, VoIP and enhanced office-to-office communications.

"This new contract is a shining example of Equant's outsourcing and services strategy," said Mack Treece, head of Americas, Equant. "Transforming Universal Music Group's legacy network to a managed, converged IP network will result in greater efficiencies and help them surpass their business objectives. We are proud that Universal Music Group has placed its trust in Equant to help them achieve this important technology milestone."

This outsourcing deal also demonstrates the success of NExT, the three-year transformation strategic program announced by France Telecom in June 2005, and of NExT Enterprise, its counterpart for the business market with a strong focus on outsourcing.

Capitalizing on the combined strengths of France Telecom, Orange and Equant's solution portfolio and their deep expertise in each of their domains, NExT Enterprise gives our corporate customers, doing business in 220 countries and territories around the world, access to integrated voice, data and mobile convergent products and solutions, that are both high value and simple.

About Equant

Equant 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 more than 1,400 global businesses. Equant, a subsidiary of France Telecom, consistently leads industry surveys in corporate user satisfaction.

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group is the world's largest music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 77 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry's largest global music publishing operations.

Universal Music Group consists of record labels Decca Music Group, Deutsche Grammophon, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Geffen Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Philips, Polydor Records, Universal Music Latino, Universal Motown Records Group, and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalog of music in the industry, which is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes eLabs, a new media and technologies division, and Universal Music Mobile.

Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.

Source: Business Wire

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