Equant [NYSE: ENT], a provider of data and IP services for multinational businesses, will deploy an IP virtual private network for EUMETSAT to process crucial weather data gathered from international meteorological satellites.

Based in Darmstadt, Germany, EUMETSAT is an intergovernmental organization that establishes and maintains meteorological satellites in 18 European countries for weather forecasts and global climate observation.

EUMETSAT, which launched its ATOVS Retransmission Service in 2002, needed a secure network to link its satellite earth stations across Europe. Equant has already connected EUMETSAT earth stations in Tromso, Norway, and Maspalomas, Spain, and will connect four more within three months.