Ashtech, CANAC Microtel & Sagem Team to Win Canadian Coast Guard Contract; Systems Integrators to Deliver Phase I of the Canadian Marine DGPS System.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 18, 1995--The Canadian Coast Guard has announced the award of a contract in excess of C$2 million to Systems Integrator CANAC/Microtel and its strategic partners, Ashtech Inc. and Sagem Australasia to deliver Phase I of the Canadian Marine DGPS System.

This system will consist of eleven Differential Global Positioning Satellite (DGPS) reference stations and six control monitor stations. CANAC/Microtel and its team members have designed a world-class solution for the Canadian Coast Guard.

This system will provide both the Canadian and International marine community with reliable navigation to facilitate safe traffic movement in the waterways and coastlines of Canada. The reference stations will transmit GPS correction data to suitably equipped receivers allowing navigators to increase their positional accuracy more than ten-fold. The control stations are required to ensure that this vital navigational aid is operating correctly for the benefit of the user community.

CANAC/Microtel will provide project management, engineering, documentation, integration, quality assurance, commissioning and training services. Ashtech will supply the reference stations and integrity monitors, and SAGEM-Australasia will supply the control station and control monitor software. The award of this contract demonstrates the value of a Systems Integrator, supported by strong high-technology manufacturers, in delivering complex turn-key systems.

The United States Coast Guard awarded Ashtech its DGPS reference station contract in 1994. Over 160 Ashtech Z-12 DGPS Continuous Operating Reference Stations are installed along the coastline of the United States, along the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes and the coastlines of Alaska and Hawaii. These reference sites supply RTCM data for maritime navigation use and carrier phase data for geodetic use. In addition to the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard sites, Ashtech reference stations are also installed in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Japan, China, Russia, Indonesia, Greenland, the Middle East and Antarctica. The Ashtech Reference stations are also used in other projects in California and the New Madrid area of the Mississippi River.

Ashtech, Inc., a telecommunications company, is the leading provider of precision solutions for global positioning. Incorporated in 1987, Ashtech manufactures and markets Global Positioning Systems (GPS) receiver systems and related subsystems. The company currently manufactures systems which use Navstar satellites to determine position and time information for users worldwide. Ashtech is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. and maintains a European sales office in Oxford, England, as well as research and development facilities in Moscow. More than 60 international and domestic dealers represent Ashtech products worldwide. Ashtech's main number is 408/524-1400.

Formed in 1985, CANAC/Microtel is a partnership of CANAC International, the consulting and technology transfer division of Canadian National Railway, and Microtel International, a subsidiary of BC Telecom Inc. The company successfully operates in the global marketplace in both the public and private sectors, offering consulting, systems integration and system support services in the advanced telecommunications, marine systems, and secure computing network applications.

CONTACT: Ashtech, Inc.

Sally Kenvin, 408/524-1460

[e-mail]

or

Wilson McHenry Company

Greg Matz, 415/638-3400

[e-mail]

or

CANAC/Microtel

Robert Laing, 604/942-3396