Datum Awarded Atomic Clock Contract for European Navigation System.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2001

Commercial Aircraft, Ocean and Ground Transportation Positioning

and Tracking to Be Revolutionized by GPS-Based Program

Datum Corporation's (Nasdaq:DATM) Timing, Test and Measurement facility based in Beverly, Mass., has been awarded a contract to supply both Cesium and Rubidium atomic clocks in support of Europe's Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS).

EGNOS is designed to provide precise navigational information for many forms of transportation from aircraft and oceanic to commercial trucks.

The system is similar to the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) being deployed in the United States and Japan's Multisatellite-based Augmentation System (MSAS), which Datum also has supplied.

"We are very proud to have been selected to work on this important project with such a select group of multi-national companies," said Erik van der Kaay, Datum's chairman and chief executive officer. "This contract award is another indication of the increasing international applications for our family of advanced timing products."

These systems are designed to enable commercial aircraft to utilize GPS positioning signals as a sole means of navigation. This will alleviate much of the current airspace congestion caused by queing aircraft flying the same corridors to reach a specific airport. In addition to improving safety, the new GPS navigation system will reduce travel time and save fuel by allowing direct point-to-point routing of aircraft.

The prime contractor for the project is Alcatel Space, based in Toulouse, France. The atomic clocks will form part of the Ranging and Integrity Monitoring Stations (RIMS) being supplied by Alenia Spazio (Italy), Indra Espacio (Spain), and Racal Avionics (U.K.).

The atomic clocks will serve as the source for the critical EGNOS System Time, used to validate the satellite navigation signals for integrity and accuracy. The system replaces outdated beacon technology and is capable of providing positioning information with accuracy within seven meters of the system's actual location. Datum's cesium-based atomic clocks are accurate to within a fraction of a second over 300,000 years.

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), EGNOS will transform air traffic management, enhance communications and surveillance capabilities, thus increasing safety, gaining time and reducing fuel consumption and costs.

Details of the contract have not been revealed, but Datum sees this award as the first step in participating in ESA's far-reaching Galileo Program.

Datum manufactures a complete range of time and frequency technologies from quartz crystal oscillators to Active Hydrogen Masers. The company is the largest volume manufacturer of cesium atomic clocks in the world and has supplied the majority of cesium clocks used within the USA's Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system.

Datum also has a significant presence in the telecommunications industry, supplying a complete range of timing and synchronization products for both wireline and wireless telecommunications applications for both domestic and international markets.

About Datum Inc.

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Datum designs, manufactures and markets advanced, cost-effective network synchronization, timing and frequency solutions for telecommunications, computer networks, satellite systems and test and measurement applications. With more than 150,000 solutions in operation worldwide, Datum is the world's leading supplier of embedded and external carrier-class synchronization solutions. Additional information about the critical role of timing is available at www.datum.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements, which reflect management's best judgment based on factors currently known, involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the following: competition, availability of supplies and components, fluctuations in demand for wireless and wireline communication services and products, and acceptance of the Company's products and technology. These factors and other risks inherent in the Company's business are described from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2000. Actual results may vary materially. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.