Broadband Market Entrant WINfirst Chooses MDSI Advantex r7 to Offer Superior Service to New Residential Customers.

Business Editors

RICHMOND, B.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 2000

MDSI (NASDAQ:MDSI)(TSE:MMD.) With Advantex r7, WINfirst will efficiently manage 2000 mobile workers to deliver services quickly over its new broadband, fiber-to-the-home residential network

MDSI Mobile Data Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:MDSI)(TSE:MMD) has signed a US$3.2 million agreement, comprising software, services and a multi-year maintenance and service agreement, to implement its Advantex(tm) r7 wireless workforce management solution for Denver-based WINfirst. The MDSI(r) system will help WINfirst offer its customers superior service by efficiently managing approximately 2,000 mobile workers so they can provision new services quickly. This contract is the first for MDSI with a rapidly emerging, new generation of service providers that build broadband fiber networks to deliver video, voice, and data services at ultrafast speeds.

"As consumers today, we not only want the best services available, we want them delivered quickly, conveniently, and reliably. With Advantex, service providers such as WINfirst can differentiate themselves with outstanding customer care by optimally managing mobile workers to get the right person to the right place at the right time," stated Rob Cruickshank, President and COO of MDSI. "Workforce management is increasingly an integral part of a service provider's total operations support system. We expect the entire broadband and telecommunications market to be a strong one for MDSI going forward."

WINfirst is building an entirely new, broadband, fiber-to-the-home residential network that will provide high-bandwidth for voice, data and video applications. WINfirst has already received regulatory approval to build networks in Sacramento and San Diego in California, and Austin, Dallas and San Antonio in Texas, which combined cover approximately 3.2 million homes. In addition, WINfirst has received a network construction permit in Portland, Ore. Franchise applications are pending in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., Las Vegas and Seattle.

Advantex r7 will provide WINfirst with the wireless workforce management technology to efficiently and effectively manage the day-to-day operations of its mobile workers who will install the new broadband services for residential customers. Advantex will be integrated with WINfirst's new customer relationship management system and customer care and billing system to provide a complete operations support system (OSS) that offers a seamless experience to the customer.

"As part of our commitment to providing outstanding service we wanted to give customers a specific appointment time for service installation," said Frank Casazza, President & COO, WINfirst. "Advantex makes this possible. Moreover, MDSI is undoubtedly the premier vendor in the wireless workforce management space. They have extensive experience with large, complex, geographically dispersed operations and it was an easy choice to make them our partner."

The Advantex solution will be rolled out in Sacramento before the end of the year, followed by additional cities in California and Texas. By the end of 2001, WINfirst expects Advantex will be used to support a mobile workforce of approximately 2000.

WINfirst joins a group of leading service providers worldwide that have selected MDSI for wireless workforce management, including AT&T Wireless Services, Belgacom (Belgium), Adelphia, Cable & Wireless Optus (Australia), Cablevision Systems, Rogers Cable, TeleDanmark (Denmark), Telenor (Norway), and Videotron.

MDSI's Advantex r7 solution provides broadband companies with a seamless and reliable means to wirelessly manage and communicate data to mobile workers and link them to a full array of enterprise and Internet data resources. The Advantex software suite increases operational efficiency and supports customer-oriented service practices that win more customers and keep them longer. Advantex lets organizations provide faster and better field service to their customers, with increased efficiency and lower cost. Advantex schedules appointments by matching customer requests with the best available mobile resource. It efficiently and automatically dispatches workers to ensure the fastest possible response time, tracks and records worker time and resources used on a job, and automatically transfers all information collected in the field to the appropriate enterprise or Internet data resources. It eliminates inefficiency and wasted time involved in creating and transferring paper or voice orders to mobile workers and order completion information back to the enterprise. Advantex also reports on operational performance to help management make decisions. And it all happens wirelessly, in real-time.

Q3 Results Conference Call Notice: Tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. PST, MDSI Mobile Data Solutions Inc. will hold a conference call at 1-888-343-1299 to review financial results from its third quarter, ending September 30, 2000. A replay will be available until Tuesday, November 7, 2000 at 1-800-558-5253 (passcode 16689089). You can also listen to the call live or archived at www.mdsi-advantex.com, www.streetevents.com, or www.q1234.com.

About WINfirst

WINfirst is building a new fiber-to-the-home residential network using fiber-optic technology in conjunction with Ethernet networking standards to break the last-mile bottleneck. WINfirst will provide the highest quality of customer service and choice, the convenience of one-stop shopping for Internet, cable TV and telephone service and the value of a bundled-service offering. For more information about WINfirst, visit http://www.winfirst.com.

About MDSI

By uniting the power of wireless communications, advanced service management applications and the Internet, MDSI Mobile Data Solutions Inc. is revolutionizing how companies sell and deliver services and how people purchase them. MDSI enables companies of any size in any service market to manage mobile and on site service workers to deliver better and more efficient services, and empowers those workers via reliable, wireless links to enterprise or Internet applications. MDSI enables consumers and businesses alike to purchase, schedule, confirm and track service appointments online without any human intervention, providing the ultimate in convenience and efficiency. MDSI accomplishes this through a suite of wireless connectivity, service management, and other service and mobile solutions that can be delivered over the Internet or through traditional on-site implementations. Founded in 1993, MDSI is the most experienced and trusted wireless applications company operating today. MDSI has over 100 major, blue chip customers worldwide with operations and support offices throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. More information is available at http://www.mdsi-advantex.com and http://www.eservice.com.

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in our industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this release include MDSI's expectations as to the timing and amount of revenues attributable to sales of MDSI's Advantex(tm) r7 wireless workforce management solution to businesses in the broadband and telecommunications market; and the anticipated timing of the installation of the Advantex(tm) r7 solution at WINfirst. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results include risks and uncertainties such as: the possible failure of businesses in the broadband and telecommunications market to purchase the Advantex(tm) r7 solution; any software errors in MDSI's products; the possibility of technical difficulties or delays in future product introductions and improvements; product development, product pricing or other initiatives of the MDSI's competitors; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in MDSI's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. MDSI disclaims an intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.