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News ReleaseNovAtel Inc. Authorized to Sell Galileo Receivers
(Calgary, Alberta, Canada, March 21, 2007) – NovAtel Inc. (NASDAQ: NGPS), a precise positioning technology company, announced that it has been granted temporary authorization by the European Space Agency (ESA) to sell Galileo/Giove-A receivers to a limited number of specified companies, making NovAtel one of the first GNSS manufacturers to sell Galileo receivers. NovAtel has had a production standard receiver and antenna available since early 2006, however ESA has restricted external sales up to now. In the meantime ESA has conducted an intense internal test campaign with GIOVE-A for over a year. GIOVE-A is the first Galileo test satellite and has been in orbit since December 2005. Galileo is the European Union's state-of-the-art Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which is expected to be fully operable from 2010 with up to 30 satellites orbiting the earth. It is designed for both civilian and government purposes and will be controlled and operated by civil management. “I am very pleased that ESA has selected NovAtel as one of the few GNSS manufacturers authorized to sell a functional Galileo receiver,” said Tony Murfin, NovAtel’s Vice President, Business Development. “We have a number of customers who are anxious to purchase combined function GPS/Galileo EuroPak-15a receivers and this authorization will allow us to now supply them. There are several organizations, such as government agencies and universities, which are interested in accessing the GIOVE-A Galileo test satellite data for evaluation and initial applications development. This decision will allow the wider community outside the ESA in-house campaign to join in GIOVE-A evaluation and test. These receivers were developed in conjunction with the Canadian Space Agency and track L1/L5 GPS or L1/E5a Galileo.” NovAtel has been involved in the development of Galileo technology since 2000. Most recently, NovAtel announced that it was the first company outside Europe to be accepted as a Full Member of Galileo Services, a non-profit organization made up of a consortium of businesses and agencies involved with Galileo satellite system downstream technology and services. About NovAtelNovAtel Inc. (NASDAQ:NGPS) is a leading provider of precision Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) components and subsystems that afford its customers rapid integration of precise positioning technology. The Company’s mission is to provide exceptional return on investment and outstanding service to our customers. An ISO 9001 certified company, NovAtel is focused on developing quality OEM products including receivers, antennas, enclosures and software that are integrated into high precision positioning applications worldwide. These applications include surveying, Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping, precision agriculture machine guidance, port automation, mining, marine and defence industries. NovAtel’s reference receivers are also at the core of national aviation ground networks in the USA, Japan, Europe, China and India. The Company is committed to providing its customers with advanced positioning technology through significant R&D investment focusing on the modernized Global Positioning System (GPS), the revitalized Russian GLONASS and the emerging European Galileo satellite systems, as well as the integration of additional complementary technologies such as Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). For more information, visit www.novatel.com. Certain statements in this news release, including those about the Company’s future plans and intentions, future performance and market acceptance of its Galileo technology and expected shipments into the Galileo system, long-term growth prospects, levels of activity or other future events, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on management’s current expectations regarding NovAtel’s future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures, competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as ‘‘anticipate’’, ‘‘believe’’, ‘‘expect’’, ‘‘may’’, ‘‘could’’, ‘‘will’’, ‘‘potential’’, ‘‘intend’’, ‘‘estimate’’, ‘‘should’’, ‘‘plan’’, ‘‘predict’’, “forecast” or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including operating results of the Company’s joint venture Point, Inc. (“Point”), impact and timing of large orders, U.S. dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate fluctuations, establishing and maintaining effective distribution channels, certification and market acceptance of NovAtel’s new products, credit risks of customers and the Company’s joint venture Point, pricing pressures in the market and other competitive factors, maintaining technological leadership, timing of revenue recognition in connection with certain contracts, the ability to maintain supply of products from subcontract manufacturers, the procurement of components to build products, product defects, the impact of industry consolidations, vulnerability to general economic, market and business conditions, competition, environmental and other actions by governmental authorities, reliance on key personnel and other factors described in the Company’s Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2005 and other SEC filings, many of which are beyond the control of NovAtel. These factors should be considered carefully and undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and NovAtel assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. |
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