sTESTA network ensures critical information flow among national and European Administrations
Following the necessary legal procedures, the European Commission has decided to extend for an additional two years its contract with Orange Business under which it manages the pan-European sTESTA (secured Trans European Services for Telematics between Administrations) network. With this renewal, Orange Business will continue to deliver a highly secure data network, ensuring the reliable exchange of critical information among a range of national and European Administrations within the European Union.
As a result of a call for tenders in 2006, Orange Business was awarded the contract to create the sTESTA network, a private MPLS-based IP network which now connects more than 250 sites in all EU member states, the European Free Trade Association states as well as candidate and potential candidate countries. In addition to the network, Orange manages a central platform that includes a Web portal; secure, authenticated e-mail and File Transfer Protocol; and dedicated network monitoring, all backed by stringent service level agreements.
Some key agencies or applications using the sTESTA network include:
- Eurodac – European Dactyloscopy, the European fingerprint database for identifying asylum seekers and irregular border-crossers;
- Europol – European Union law enforcement agency that handles criminal intelligence;
- National Financial Intelligence Units – agency responsible for receiving, requesting, analyzing and disseminating to the competent authorities information concerning potential money laundering or terrorist financing;
- SCEPYLT – System Control and Protection of Explosives for the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, a single, coordinated information system to improve security in the European marketing of explosives; and
- VIS – Visa Information System, going live at the end of 2010, aims to prevent visa fraud and visa shopping by applicants between EU member states.
“With the sTESTA network, organizations can boost their efficiency via a reliable network with a very high level of security to guarantee the integrity of all data,” explain Commission staff in charge of the STESTA service. “For example, Eurodac is able to track an asylum applicant in the EU in a matter of minutes, a process which took hours or even days before.”
“We are very happy that the European Commission has reaffirmed its trust in Orange Business with the renewal of our contract for the prestigious sTESTA network,” said Dr. Helmut Reisinger, senior vice president Europe, Orange Business. “In fact, sTESTA was recently awarded a TECNIMAP award for being an eGovernment project that shows the best initiative in the application of IT to the improvement of public services provision in the EU.”
A video is available on the European Commission - Audiovisual Services Web site to provide more information on the sTESTA network: Click here to view the video.
About Orange Business
Orange Business, the France Telecom Orange branch dedicated to B2B services, is a leading global integrator of communications solutions for multinational corporations. With the world’s largest, seamless network for voice and data, Orange Business reaches 220 countries and territories with local support in 166. Offering a comprehensive package of communication services covering cloud computing, enterprise mobility, M2M, security, unified communications, videoconferencing, and broadband, Orange Business delivers a best-in-class customer experience across a global landscape. Thousands of enterprise customers and 1.4 million users rely on an Orange Business international platform for communicating and conducting business. Orange Business is a four-time winner of Best Global Operator at the World Communication Awards. Learn more at www.orange-business.com
About Orange
Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators. With almost 131 million customers, the Orange brand covers Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the Group operates. At the end of 2009, France Telecom had sales of 44.8 billion euros (22.1 billion euros for the first half of 2010). At June 30, 2010, the Group had a total customer base of 182 million customers in 32 countries. These include 123.1 million mobile customers and 13.2 million broadband Internet (ADSL) customers worldwide. Orange is the number three mobile operator and the number three provider of broadband Internet services in Europe and, under the brand Orange Business, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.
With its industrial project, "conquests 2015", Orange is simultaneously addressing its employees, customers and shareholders, as well as the society in which the company operates, through a concrete set of action plans. These commitments are expressed through a new vision of human resources for employees; through the deployment of a network infrastructure upon which the Group will build its future growth; through the Group’s ambition to offer a superior customer experience thanks in particular to improved quality of service; and through the acceleration of international development.
France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more information (on the Internet and on your mobile): www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.orange-innovation.tv
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