Japan Telecom ties up with Equant - report

Japan Telecom Co has tied up with Equant, a major global data-communications firm affiliated with France Telecom, in a drive to provide communications services to globally active Japanese companies using Equant's communications network covering 220 countries and regions, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing sources close to the deal.

Using the infrastructure of Equant as well as that of the BT Group and Qwest of the US, both of which Japan Telecom already has partnerships with, the company will aim to better compete with the NTT group and KDDI Corp, the report said.

Equant, for its part, seeks to expand its customer base in the Japanese market, the sources said.

Japan Telecom will sell various communications services, including domestic and international ones, to Japanese firms by combining its services with Equant's.

Initially, by using both firms' networks as dedicated communications lines, Japan Telecom will provide IP-VPN (virtual private network) to Japanese clients, the sources said.

Japan Telecom, NTT Communications Corp and KDDI have so far tied up with the BT group, Verio and Williams Communications, respectively. But the Japanese carriers have had trouble providing services in areas outside the business territories of those overseas partners.