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France Telecom and Fujitsu Announce Initial Project of Partnership for New Value-added Services

First project to focus on R&D for data mining and grid computing technology

France Telecom,Fujitsu Limited

Tokyo and Paris, December 08, 2004

France Telecom (Euronext Paris: FR0000 133308 NYSE: FTE) and Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) today announced a grid computing technology-based joint project, the first project of their strategic R&D partnership agreement tied in July of this year to widely promote joint research and development in the fields of distributed computing, ubiquitous networking, and storage.

Leveraging existing grid computing technology from France Telecom and Fujitsu, the first phase of the initial project will have an internal focus, to dramatically facilitate analysis of the huge volume of France Telecom's data, such as for data mining and customer billing. In the second phase, the project will generate value-added external services based on grid computing that can be offered to other enterprises. This strategic partnership will enable France Telecom and Fujitsu to offer innovative value-added services to their customers with greater speed and efficiency through shared resources.

For the first phase of this project, Fujitsu will contribute its grid computing technology, specifically its CyberGRIP middleware and organic resource management systems. France Telecom R&D's division will bring to the partnership data-oriented and computation-intensive applications such as data mining, along with a number of enabling middleware components, particularly for persistent data and telecommunications application servers. In phase two of the project, the focus will shift to maximizing the companies' joint expertise to generate innovative external services for France Telecom and Fujitsu customers.

“France Telecom is a world leading telecommunication service provider with tremendous R&D capabilities and experience. We believe this collaboration, to create new technologies and value-added services leveraging our collective strengths in grid computing and data mining, is an ideal partnership," said Kazuo Murano, president of Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. "This is a prime example of our strategy of partnering with customers who are themselves leading technological innovators, to develop technologies and solutions that deliver real business value and enhance competitiveness."

Pascal Viginier, executive Director of the R&D Division of France Telecom, said, "It's a great opportunity for us to partner with a leading company in both computing and telecommunication technology while it becomes evident that these two are blurring for the benefit of performance, cost reduction and integrated services that may be offered to customers. Grid computing is a way out for solving large-scale data storage and computing resources problems that are raised by the information society. Fujitsu is an excellent partner for France Telecom R&D's division to explore this innovative solution, both for France Telecom's internal needs as well as for innovative value-added services for customers of France Telecom and Fujitsu. We expect to develop further services based on a common vision on other R&D domains in the near future."

France Telecom and Fujitsu are committed to mutually leveraging resources and sharing expertise to develop the best solutions for their customers. Both companies have agreed to promote the new services resulting from this R&D partnership.

*Grid computing is a form of distributed computing that allows for the creation of a virtual super-computer that can harness unused processing cycles and storage capacities of commodity computers, or organize distributed computing on dedicated clusters in multiple administrative domains to solve problems too intensive for a stand-alone machine. Grid computing is currently being viewed as a cornerstone of future IT infrastructures that can help to change the ways in which companies approach their information technology needs.

All product names and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective firms.

About France Telecom

France Telecom is one of the world's leading telecommunications carriers, with 119,6 million customers on the five continents (220 countries and territories) and consolidated operating revenues of 46.1 billion euros for 2003 (23.2 billion euros for 1st semester 2004). 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 span local, long-distance and international telephony, wireless, Internet, multimedia, data, broadcast and cable TV services. 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. France Telecom puts technological innovation at the heart of its concerns. With 3400 researchers and 7100 patents, its R&D division is the engine of its innovation capability, in France and abroad. Its role is to anticipate technological revolutions and new uses, providing innovation to offer customers the best from telecommunications, simultaneously imagining today the technologies which will be part of their daily life tomorrow. Its R&D’s results have put the Group in the leading position in Europe in terms of telecommunications research and development. Established on 16 sites, including 8 abroad (London, San Francisco, Boston, Tokyo, Varsow, Beijing, Seoul, New Delhi), the researchers of France Telecom are involved in the design and the development of approximately 70% of the products of the group.
For more information, please see: http://www.rd.francetelecom.fr

About Fujitsu

Fujitsu is a leading provider of customer-focused IT and communications solutions for the global marketplace. Pace-setting technologies, highly reliable computing and communications platforms, and a worldwide corps of systems and services experts uniquely position Fujitsu to deliver comprehensive solutions that open up infinite possibilities for its customers' success. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.7 trillion yen (US$45 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004.
For more information, please see: http://www.fujitsu.com/

About Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.

Founded in 1968 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Laboratories Limited is one of the premier research centers in the world. With a global network of laboratories in Japan, China, the United States and Europe, the organization conducts a wide range of basic and applied research in the areas of Multimedia, Personal Systems, Networks, Peripherals, Advanced Materials and Electronic Devices.
For more information, please see: http://www.labs.fujitsu.com/en/

Press Contacts

Nilou du Castel
Cathy Excoffier

Phone: Phone: +33(0)1-44-44-93-93
E-mail: E-mail: nilou.ducastel@francetelecom.com
E-mail: E-mail: cathy.excoffier@francetelecom.com
Company:France Telecom

Press Contacts

Public and Investor Relations
Inquiries

Company:Fujitsu Limited

Customer Contacts

Global Business Unit
Europe Division

Phone: Phone: +81-3-6252-2616
E-mail: E-mail: global-europecontact@ml.css.fujitsu.com
Company:Fujitsu Limited


All product names and company names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective firms.

Date: 08 December, 2004
City: Tokyo and Paris
Company: France Telecom, Fujitsu Limited, , , ,