AMSTERDAM and LONDON -- Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Paris Bourse: EQU), an industry leader in data and IP services for multinational businesses, has signed a multimillion dollar integration services contract with Unilever's Global Infrastructure Organization (GIO) to provide and maintain its Cisco Systems data networking equipment for the next three years.GIO provides information technology services to all Unilever organizations worldwide, delivering world-class levels of service, controlling costs and improving communications with customers and suppliers. Unilever's brands span food, home and personal care and include internationally recognized names such as Dove, Hellmann's, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton and Snuggle.Unilever, headquartered in London and Rotterdam, has a network supporting 100,000 users across approximately 1,400 sites in more than 100 countries. With Equant, Unilever will be working with a single service provider instead of multiple vendors in many countries. All of the sites are covered by a single global contract and service level agreement.Equant will deliver Unilever's Cisco networking hardware and support requirements, which are driven by a need to maintain and improve a global infrastructure to support the company's increasing reliance on centrally managed IP-enabled applications, such as SAP, PeopleSoft and Ariba. GIO's network provides the e-business infrastructure and intelligent network services that are essential for rapid and seamless deployment of emerging technologies and new Internet business solutions. The network will be used for the research and development of new brands, packaging design, manufacturing and inventory systems, as well as standard business applications. E-mail alone generates more than one million electronic messages per day.Equant