JT International Outsources its Worldwide Telecom Infrastructure to Equant Through a Six-year, Multimillion Dollar Contract.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

GENEVA & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2004

Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU) has signed a six-year, $144 million communications outsourcing contract with JT International (JTI).

Based in Geneva, Switzerland, JTI, the international operating division of Japan Tobacco Inc., has outsourced its telecom services in 47 countries, representing more than 240 sites, to Equant.

As part of this outsourcing deal, Equant will provide a full set of communications services to JTI, including data services based on IP VPN, Internet access, managed security services, remote access services, LAN management, voice over IP and IP telephony, contact centers as well as fixed and mobile voice services. This deal also includes the transfer of JTI's telecom assets and its telecom vendors' contracts to Equant, representing several thousand pieces of equipment.

JTI expects to operate its communications services on a global basis while gaining maximum flexibility in each country using the same partner worldwide. Additional key benefits of the agreement with Equant include:

-- Consolidating from several hundred telecom vendors to one,

-- Receiving the high level of network security required by large

multinational corporations,

-- Optimizing its overall telecommunications infrastructure on

Equant's converged IP VPN platform,

-- Having end-to-end service level agreements worldwide.

"This deal is first of all, the result of the high degree of confidence in Equant developed and reinforced during our past collaboration and preliminary work on a joint assessment of the opportunities entailed in such a large outsourcing project," said Martin Braddock, chief financial officer of JTI. "JTI will certainly benefit from Equant's outsourcing expertise both in terms of efficiency and cost savings, since Equant is now our single and only telecom provider across more than 240 sites in 47 countries."

"JTI has complete confidence in the Equant team, with unparalleled experience and know-how to tailor solutions that exactly meet our core business requirements," added Steve Riddle, vice president and chief information officer of JTI.

"We are very proud to provide the worldwide communications infrastructure of such an industry leader," said Michel Picaud, senior vice president and head of Equant Global Solutions. "This demonstrates Equant's unmatched capabilities to offer complete end-to-end international communications outsourcing services for corporate users."

About JT International

JT International is the international subsidiary of Japan Tobacco, Inc., which is the world's third largest manufacturer of tobacco products with net sales of $36 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003, and has three of the world's 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 more than 11,000 employees and sales activities in more than 120 countries.

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 - including unmatched seamless network reach in 220 countries and territories and local support in approximately 165 countries - 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 1,000 global businesses as of Jan. 19, 2004. Equant, a subsidiary of France Telecom, was named Best Global Carrier 2003 and Best Managed Service 2003 at the World Communication Awards and 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 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 Equant's history of operating losses, the unpredictability of growth in Equant's markets, changing technology, uncertain and changing regulatory restrictions, Equant's international operations, dependence on suppliers, network security issues, competition, and volatility of Equant's 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.