Press and News - 24.02.2003

u-blox and EchoBurst Team Up to Provide Seamless Location Services.

Herndon, VA / Dulles, VA - February 24, 2003 - u-blox and EchoBurst announced today their co-operation in development and deployment of global location and tracking services for the security vehicle market. Enhanced GPS technology from u-blox and EchoBurst's seamless messaging service based on the ORBCOMM satellite network and GSM networks are the cornerstones for this partnership.

While positioning information is interesting for a lot of people such as outdoors sportsmen and fleet managers, few companies are so dependent on being able to track their assets, as are security transport firms. To fulfill the specific security requirements of such companies, EchoBurst has developed a seamless location service, which encompasses vehicle monitoring, driver emergency communicator, and asset tracking. Other organizations that benefit from this service include emergency vehicle fleets, taxicab companies, and corporations protecting assets under the aspect of homeland security.

"The most challenging part has been to always provide accurate position information of the security vehicle carrying precious cargo," says Karl Keffer, CTO of EchoBurst. "Now, with the new u-blox Enhanced GPS technology, our customers can determine in which highway lane their vehicles are traveling, even under adverse GPS conditions."

"EchoBurst's motto is: Accurate, Anytime, Anywhere. We chose u-blox because of their proven track record in reliable, high-precision positioning solutions, such as the toll road system in mountainous Switzerland, where every commercial truck is equipped with a u-blox GPS receiver," explains EchoBurst's CEO, Pat Hillier.

Adds Nikolaos Papadopoulos, VP of Sales at u-blox America: "We are excited to work with EchoBurst, because their strict requirements utilize the capabilities of our high-precision Enhanced GPS technology based on the ANTARIS™ chipset."

The u-blox Enhanced GPS technology works with the new 16-channel, low-power GPS TIM-LP receiver, which is based on the u-blox' ANTARIS™ GPS chipset. The u-blox position technology is complemented by EchoBurst's dual-communication strategy, which uses the ORBCOMM satellite network and the GSM/GPRS digital PCS network.

"With our Enhanced GPS products, EchoBurst's customers now can report seamlessly accurate position information and vehicle status even in enclosed locations such as in parking garages, tunnels, and other areas with little or no GPS coverage," points out Karsten Tietz, President of u-blox America."

EchoBurst is currently in pilots with several companies, who have been successfully testing the service for several months. It is expected that the service will be deployed commercially by the middle of this year.

About u-blox
u-blox develops and markets positioning technologies based on the Global Positioning System (GPS). u-blox provides its products to Original Equipment Manufacturers, which integrate and utilize u-blox' miniaturized GPS modules and chipsets. u-blox is a privately held company founded in 1997 and headquartered in Thalwil, Switzerland, with subsidiaries in Germany, UK, USA and Hong Kong. The North American headquarters, u-blox America, Inc., is located in Herndon, Virginia. For more information please visit the web site at www.u-blox.com.

About EchoBurst
Based in Dulles, Virginia, EchoBurst is a Delaware registered company incorporated in February 2001, that is a leading global Location-Based Service (LBS) Provider offering business and personal users the opportunity to utilize its fully integrated, Internet-based EchoTrakSM services to track, monitor and locate their vehicles. EchoBurst supports a wide range of GPS devices, carriers and protocols to meet business and individual needs thus allowing the end user to purchase a solution that meets their needs rather than getting locked into a single technology or carrier. EchoBurst supports both satellite and terrestrial based systems to provide solutions that better serve both metropolitan and rural tracking. For more information, please contact:

EchoBurst, Inc., Phone: +1 (571) 434-3130, Fax: +1 (571) 434-3132, sales@echoburst.com, www.echoburst.com

About ORBCOMM
Based in Dulles, Virginia, ORBCOMM is a wireless telecommunications company that provides reliable, cost effective data communications services to customers around the world through its unique low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite network and global ground infrastructure. A diverse customer base uses ORBCOMM services to track, monitor and share information between mobile and fixed assets around the world. ORBCOMM data communications services are used by customers to track mobile assets including trucks, containers, barges, fishing vessels, locomotives and heavy machinery; to monitor fixed assets including pipelines, oil wells, energy meters, and storage tanks; and, to share information through data messaging services. For more information, please contact:

ORBCOMM, Phone: 1-800-ORBCOMM or visit the web site at www.orbcomm.com

-end-

Press Contacts
u-blox America, Inc.
Nikolaos Papadopoulos, Vice President Sales
Phone: +1 (703) 234-5292, E-Mail: nikolaos.papadopoulos@u-blox.com

u-blox AG
Manuela Vujevic, Marketing Communications
Phone: +41 (1) 722 74 53, E-Mail: manuela.vujevic@u-blox.com

Further Information

Press Releases 2003

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