Metricom Appoints CTO to Guide Future Technology Evolution; New Treasurer to Support Future Financial Growth.

LOS GATOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 1999--

Metricom, Inc. (Nasdaq:MCOM), leading provider of mobile data networking and technology, today announced the creation of its Chief Technology Officer (CTO) position, promoting Dr. Mike Ritter into this new role.

Dr. Ritter will be responsible for addressing all technology decisions as well as technology-related FCC and other government requirements. In addition, the company appointed Jay Kistner as its corporate Treasurer responsible for corporate finance, investment management, cash management, and financial planning & analysis.

"These two appointments reflect our long-term focus on the future development of our company as we work in the near term to deliver on the promise of 128 kbps mobile access," said Tim Dreisbach, Metricom CEO and President.

"Mike's extensive networking experience and technical leadership at Metricom over the past five years make his promotion to CTO a next natural step, and we are confident Mike's dedication and expertise will help Metricom stay at the forefront in the broadband wireless data arena. "Jay's background with financial management will prove valuable as we explore future financial growth opportunities."

Dr. Ritter will be responsible for managing and coordinating all corporate technology-related decisions as well as issues relating to strategic partner requirements.

Dr. Ritter's other responsibilities will include managing FCC technical relations, assessing competitive technology, driving internal technology programs, managing corporate intellectual property and patents, driving system level oversight of development programs, and managing technology representation at industry events. He will continue to report to Robert Mott, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Manufacturing.

"This is an important step in the evolution of Metricom as a business," said Mott. "The formation of the CTO office will be critical to our success, due to the extremely broad-based nature of our technology. Mike brings a wealth of over 15 years experience in the high-tech industry and has been instrumental in making 128 kbps service a reality."

Dr. Ritter has been with Metricom since 1994 and has served as Senior Engineer, Director of Systems Engineering, and Director of Software Engineering. Prior to joining Metricom, Ritter held the position of Manager of Open Systems Development at Apple and was responsible for the MacTCP product and developed a wireless LAN product.

Previously, he was a manager at Sun Microsystems, responsible for the TOPS software development. Ritter also held various consulting and research positions at Lockheed Space and Missles Co., Stanford University, Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, and was a visiting staff member at Los Alamos National Laboratories.

Ritter holds two patents in networking, has various patents pending, is co-author of IETF RFC 1419, and has published over 15 papers. He received his BS in physics from Stanford and an MS, MA, and Ph.D. in physics from Yale.

In the role of Treasurer, Metricom announced the appointment of Jay Kistner, who will report to Jim Wall, Chief Financial Officer. Kistner joins Metricom with more than 16 years in related financial experience.

Prior to Metricom, Kistner served as Director of Corporate Finance at Airtouch Communications where he was instrumental in raising long-term capital for the core business, developing financing structure for all major acquisitions, and managing relations with all investment banks and credit rating agencies.

Previously, he held several positions with Pacific Telesis over his ten years with the company and was a critical part of the Airtouch IPO/spin-off team prior to joining Airtouch.

"The addition of Jay to our corporate finance team will strengthen our ability to explore best alternatives for future financial growth for Metricom," said Wall. "His experience with financing at various levels of a company's evolution will be beneficial to Metricom as the company grows and evolves."

About Metricom

Metricom, Inc. is a leading provider of mobile data networking and technology. The Company's Ricochet service provides mobile professionals with high-performance, cost-effective untethered access to the Internet, private Intranets, local-area networks, e-mail, and other online services.

Ricochet is generally available in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas; in select areas of New York City; on select corporate campuses; and at gate areas at 12 major airports throughout the United States. For more information, visit Metricom's Web site at http://www.metricom.com.

Note to Editors: Metricom and Ricochet are registered trademarks of Metricom, Inc.

Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts, including those related to future market conditions, future competitors, future partners, market rollouts and future technology, are forward looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. Among other things, additional competition from existing and future competitors may impact the market. Projections of market size, partners, market acceptance, technological rollout and competition are estimated based on preliminary information as well as certain assumptions which management believes to be reasonable at this time. All forward looking statements are subject to the successful completion of the actions described in this press release. In addition to the factors set forth elsewhere in this press release, the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors identified in Metricom's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could affect the forward looking statements contained in this press release.