TeamSpirIT, the consortium-sponsored yacht taking part in the BT Global Challenge yacht race, departed Wellington, New Zealand yesterday, for the fourth leg of the race, announces Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Limited - one of the consortium sponsors. The fourth leg - from Wellington to Sydney Harbour, Australia - is likely to see some very close racing between the yachts and is renowned for the unpredictability of the weather, with the yachts scheduled to arrive in Sydney on Sunday, 25th February. TeamSpirIT finished the previous leg - Argentina to New Zealand - in fourth place, with the result representing a tremendous improvement over previous legs, thanks to the immense efforts of the crew - under new skipper John Read. All concerned enthusiastically celebrated the result, after enduring the rigours of the high winds and seas of the Southern Ocean.

Against the background of the BT Global Challenge, Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe is also celebrating its involvement in "Broadband Britain", as a key technology provider to BT for its roll-out of ADSL services across the country, as well as the recent launch of its new, second-generation FDX Multi-Service Broadband Solution. Fujitsu's FDX platform, a DSL Access Concentrator, is set to change the business economics of broadband access. Its unique features include the ability to deliver a world-leading five times increase on currently-available DSL capacity. It is also the first product of its type to combine fast Internet and video services within the same space-saving platform, while enabling huge amounts of core bandwidth to be saved in the network infrastructure.

Commenting on the company's involvement with the BT Global Challenge, Shigeyuki Unagami, Fujitsu Telecommunication Europe Ltd's managing director, said: "Fujitsu is proud of its involvement in the BT Global Challenge, and we wish the TeamSpirIT crew the best of luck. The BT Global Challenge is a unique event, which demonstrates the "infinite possibilities" made feasible by the kind of advanced Internet and telecommunications technology solutions that the Fujitsu group is providing around the world. Indeed, the Internet is an integral part of the crew's life aboard TeamSpirIT, and all the yachts in the fleet, allowing the crews to stay in regular contact with friends and families back home. A global yacht race, and a global provider of communications technologies, have many challenges in common!"

The BT Global Challenge yachts all feature an advanced video capture and digital editing system, complemented by a satellite link, enabling the crews to keep in touch by voice and email, and allowing video clips of the voyage to be recorded, edited and uploaded anytime. The videos are an important part of the race information available on the Internet, providing an up-to-the-minute snapshot of the boats' progress.

Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Limited is a consortium sponsor of the yacht TeamSpirIT in the BT Global Challenge round-the-world yacht race, which started from Southampton, England, in September 2000 and is scheduled to end there towards the end of June 2001. The BT Global Challenge is billed as "the world's toughest yacht race" and is regarded as the most challenging event of its type, with the crews sailing the "wrong way" around the world, against the prevailing winds and currents.

Currently employing 1,230 staff around Europe, Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe is a strategic division of the Telecommunications Group, Fujitsu Limited, Japan - one of the world's largest communications equipment suppliers. Fujitsu's customer base includes wide-ranging contracts across the breadth of modern telecommunications networks. Focused on providing strategic end to end solutions, Fujitsu offers a complete turnkey service - from project planning, community liaison, cable laying and civil engineering, to installation, implementation and ongoing maintenance.

Headquartered in Birmingham, Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe has extensive research and development facilities and also operates as part of Fujitsu's global manufacturing resource. The company has a long-established track record for product and service innovation, with extensive expertise in the field of leading edge optical transmission and telecommunications switching technology. This ranges from the development of the most advanced Photonic Network Solutions; to Passive Optical Networks; Fibre Access Systems; Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) networks; Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) solutions; Radio Access Systems and IP Applications; in addition to its TMN-compliant Network Management Systems.

To find out the latest on TeamSpirIT visit www.ftel.co.uk/news/bt_global.html or the main race site at www.btchallenge.com

For further information, please contact: