2006 USPS-Mandated Meter Migration Deadline Nears: Pitney Bowes Identifies Transition as Opportunity to Adopt Mailstream Best Practices.

December 31(st) Marks the Deadline for Phase III of the USPS Plan for Secure Postage Meter Technology

STAMFORD, Conn. -- As the December 31st deadline for Phase III of the USPS-mandated postage meter migration draws near, Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) encourages U.S. businesses to use this transition to achieve better overall mailstream management. The latest migration is Phase III of the USPS's Plan for Secure Postage Meter Technology, which began in 1995, and is designed to help prevent tampering and misuse. USPS has granted limited exceptions for certain lease customers.

"In a matter of days, a large number of postage meters will no longer comply with the USPS requirements," said Kevin Weiss, Pitney Bowes Executive Vice President and President of Pitney Bowes Global Mailstream Solutions. "For those businesses that need to adopt new digital mailing systems, this transition presents a great opportunity to find out about other mailstream solutions that can help to cut costs and build profits."

While upgrading postage meter technology to USPS standards, Pitney Bowes recommends that businesses seek advice from their mailstream consultants on products and services that will help to ensure an improved flow of communications, including more efficient and cost-effective equipment, shipping solutions, data management and presort services.

"This is a great time to explore what new products and services are available to help your business run optimally, especially in light of the expected 2007 USPS rate change," Weiss said. "Mailstream consultants can help businesses replace fragmented, inefficient mailstream operations with integrated, highly valuable mailstream practices."

Background on USPS Plan for Secure Postage Meter Technology:

In 1995, the U.S. Postal Service, with the cooperation of all authorized postage meter manufacturers, began a phaseout of all mechanical postage meters because of identified cases of indiscernible tampering and misuse. This first phase was followed by Phase II, an effort to retire electronic meters that were manually set by Postal Service employees. Phases III and IV are described as the retirement of meters with nondigitally (electronic) printed indicia. This mandate involves non-digitally printing meters that are remotely reset under the Computerized Meter Resetting System (CMRS). The affected meters are those meters that print indicia using older letterpress technology rather than digital printing, even if they have a digital display. If such a meter has an additional feature that automatically disables the meter if it is not reset within a specified time period or when certain preprogrammed criteria are met, it is called an enhanced meter. Phase III of the plan requires that the users of nonenhanced CMRS letterpress meters be off the market and withdrawn from service by December 31, 2006. Phase IV of the plan requires that the customers of enhanced CMRS letterpress meters must be off the market and withdrawn from service by December 31, 2008.

About Pitney Bowes:

Pitney Bowes provides the world's most comprehensive suite of mailstream software, hardware, services and solutions to help companies manage their flow of mail, documents and packages to improve communication. Pitney Bowes, with $5.6 billion in annual revenue, takes an all-inclusive view of its customers' operations, helping organizations of all sizes enjoy the competitive advantage that comes from an optimized mailstream. The company's 86 years of technological leadership have produced many major mailstream innovations, and it is consistently on the Intellectual Property Owners Association's list of top U.S. patent holders. With approximately 34,000 employees worldwide, Pitney Bowes serves more than 2 million businesses through direct and dealer operations. More information about the company can be found at www.pb.com.