Overall `Best in Class' Performance for Equant; Highest Performance Achieved in Telemark Services' IP Report

PARIS & MANCHESTER, England--Jan. 2, 20064, 2006--In the 14th issue of the IP report released by Telemark Services, Equant achieved the "Best in Class" for Overall Performance. Telemark looks at Overall Performance from three perspectives - overall, derived and stated. The study reveals that Equant scored an "Excellent" or "Good" rating in 70 percent of all performance attributes.

Equant received two Telemark Gold Awards - one in Technical Support and one in End-to-End Network Management. A Telemark Gold Award is made for satisfaction scores rated at more than 20 percent above the Benchmark Standard which represents the attainment of an exceptional level of customer satisfaction. Equant exceeds industry benchmarks in all of the Top 10 most important attributes which are:

-- Network Reliability.

-- Secure Data Transfer.

-- Network Availability.

-- Value for Money.

-- Fault Reporting Process.

-- Ability to Meet Requirements.

-- Accurate Bills.

-- No Hidden Extras in Bills.

-- Installation on Schedule.

-- Installation Not Disrupting.

Within the Top 10, Equant received three "Excellent" ratings for Network Reliability, Secure Data Transfer and Fault Reporting Process. Moreover, Equant was the only operator to achieve satisfaction ratings in the range of "Good," "Excellent" or "Outstanding" in an impressive 75 percent of the 32 top ranking attributes.

"As a leader in IP technology for many years," states Dr. Kerry Tomlinson, author of the report, "Equant's ability to achieve excellence in IP continues due to the focus on support of IP features and services throughout the purchase process."

Equant's overall satisfaction rating this month emerges as its best performance of the last two years. The findings of the report, based on a sample of 271 users of IP and related services, show that Equant leads competitors in nine of the 32 attributes measured, obtaining "Best in Class" for End to End Network Management, Fault Reporting Process, General Helpdesk Provision, Geographic Reach End to End, Installation Guarantees, New Product and Service Intro, Reaching Difficult Locations, Single Point of Contact, Technical Support. Additionally, Equant exceeded carrier expectations in 15 attributes.

"It is uncommon for a carrier to perform above customer expectations in so many attributes across such a wide range of attribute groups," noted Dr. Tomlinson. "Equant's ability to achieve high marks over multiple aspects of the IP business indicates remarkable consistency of service - an important characteristic for customers to look for in a global communications carrier."

Alexandre Gouvea, senior vice president, Customer Services and Operations, said: "I am very pleased with the latest Telemark findings, showing that Equant has significantly increased its performance on 16 of the 32 attributes over the last two years. This constant improvement illustrates how seriously Equant takes customer satisfaction and how we are firmly dedicated to maintaining a high level of satisfaction with our customers."

Seven global carriers are included in the IP report (AT&T, BT, BT Infonet, Cable & Wireless, Equant, MCI, and NTT). All are measured in performance across 32 service attributes.

About Telemark's Voice of the Customer: IP Services for the Business User Report

Telemark's innovative report provides user feedback from several hundred data network managers worldwide on customer satisfaction with IP VPN and related International IP business services. The report is published three times each year (April, August, December) and includes profiles of service providers (AT&T, BT, Cable & Wireless, Equant, BT Infonet, MCI and NTT) based on customer information supplied during interviews to discern strengths and weaknesses. A comprehensive range of research techniques and robust methods are used to gather data thereby ensuring meaningful, actionable results. The report examines the levels of perceived importance and satisfaction on 32 service attributes from "bid to bill." The comparative assessment looks at perceived performances of the operators indicating "Best in Class." For more information about the report, visit http://telemarkservices.com/en/reports_attributes.htm

About Telemark Services Ltd.

Telemark is a fast growing marketing services firm offering consultancy, publications and online analysis with proven expertise in measuring customer satisfaction, competitive analysis, benchmarking, trend analysis, channel management, new product development, demand estimates, branding, tariff analysis, and business strategy, exclusively within the telecommunications and IT sectors. An experienced team with decades of independent market research experience in the expanding market for voice, data and vision, Telemark is often the first-choice supplier for many organisations with a requirement for international market research and analysis covering emerging technologies such as VoIP, convergence and hosting applications. For more information, please visit www.telemarkservices.com or email info@telemarkservices.com.

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.