France, July 12, 2005 - France Telecom Group, with its fully-owned subsidiary Equant, and Cisco Systems Inc. announced today that they have been selected by Airbus for a five-year contract to implement an IP (Internet Protocol) telephony solution. According to the terms of the contract, France Telecom Group will provide a full IP solution in Airbus sites, starting in France and the United Kingdom. Cisco Systems, a long-term local area network provider for Airbus, will provide the IP-based telephony system.
This contract includes migration from traditional private branch exchanges (PBX) to fully IP-based telephony system for 30,000 extensions in France, at both Toulouse sites, and 10,000 extensions in the United Kingdom, at sites in Filton and Broughton.
Cisco will provide 40,000 IP telephone handsets and Cisco CallManager call-processing software to cover all sites. France Telecom, in France, and Equant, in United Kingdom, will provide integration services, including support services with dedicated onsite teams to ensure efficient and complete migration to the new system by the 40,000 end-users.
France Telecom, the main contractor, has full responsibility for the service contract and has signed a service level agreement that certifies the Group commitment to the success of the solution. Tests have been conducted with a panel of end-users to ensure user-friendliness of the system. New functionalities have also been introduced.
From the starting date of the contract, France Telecom and Equant will assume responsibility for the day-to-day support and management of the existing telephone system. Following the completion of a due diligence process, deployment and migration to the new IP telephony solution will be implemented. This solution includes voice messaging, contact centers and business processes such as billing and cost center allocation.
Migrating to an IP telephony solution will allow Airbus to:
- Meet the cost reduction targets defined by the company;
- Meet the scale demands of their rapidly growing business;
- Help ensure highly secure and resilient communications throughout the organisation
- Implement collaborative solutions maximizing the potential of their employees;
- Continue to deliver consistent voice services to teams when people move to new location.
Cisco is one of the main network infrastructure providers to Airbus, with Cisco equipment deployed in most of the local area networks already in place. France Telecom and Equant capitalize on having strong expertise in Cisco technologies resulting from long-term, close business relationships. For instance, France Telecom has integrated Cisco technology in its own network and France Telecom and Cisco R&D teams have developed numerous projects based on new technologies or applications. In addition, France Telecom and Equant are certified Cisco Gold Partners.
"I am enthusiastic about this contract. The convergence of all business communications - voice, video or data - brings about huge benefits: greater ROI through reduced network and administration costs; improved productivity from both end-users and the IT department; and new, high value customer care and productivity applications. I am proud that France Telecom Group, with Equant, has been recognized for its capacity to answer on an international level and for its expertise in integration services", said Barbara Dalibard, Executive Vice President, France Telecom Enterprise Communication Services.
"In winning one of the largest managed IP Telephony deployment ever, France Telecom and Equant now assume a leadership position in the global IP communications services market," added Charles Dehelly, CEO, Equant.
"The Airbus contract with France Telecom and Equant is an excellent example of how customers can make a smooth migration to advanced IP-based business communications services from legacy telephony systems by building upon their investment in Cisco technology," said Chris Dedicoat, senior vice president EMEA at Cisco Systems. "The France Telecom team has the global expertise to help multinational organisations maximize their infrastructure investment and, by using Cisco's market-leading IP Communications solutions, they can demonstrate not only significant cost-savings but added value through increased productivity and efficiency over the long term for Airbus."
In 2004, Airbus achieved a turnover of more than 20 billion euros, and provided support for the reliable operation of more than 3,500 Airbus airliners in service with more than 230 operators around the globe. To date, Airbus has received more than 5,000 orders from some 200 customers.
About France Telecom
France Telecom is one of the world's leading telecommunications carriers, with more than 126 million customers on the five continents (220 countries and territories) at March 31, 2005 and consolidated revenues of 46.16 billion euros for 2004 (under IFRS GAAP). For the Q1 2005, consolidated revenues totaled 11.62 billion euros (under IFRS GAAP). Through its major international brands, including Orange, Wanadoo, Equant and GlobeCast, France Telecom provides businesses, consumers and other carriers with a complete portfolio of solutions that spans local, long-distance and international telephony, wireless, Internet, multimedia, data, broadcast.
France Telecom is the second-largest wireless operator and Internet access provider in Europe, and a world leader in telecommunications solutions for multinational corporations. France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) is listed on the Paris and New York stock exchanges.
