MONTREAL, April 6, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- EMS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ELMG) announced today that its Satellite Networks (SatNet) Division has been selected to supply a DVB-RCS system to the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) of the United States Department of Defense. Marshall Communications Corp. has awarded EMS the contract on behalf of DISA. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
For the last several years, the U.S. Department of Defense has advocated the use of open-standard, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies to help reduce long-term procurement costs for a wide range of needs. In 2002, DISA selected COTS DVB-S technology for one-way satellite communications needs. In 2004, DISA selected COTS DVB-RCS technology for two-way satellite communications needs, as an overlay to its existing DVB-S systems. EMS's selection as supplier of this DVB-RCS technology for DISA comes after several months of rigorous technical evaluation by DISA of several competing satellite communications platforms.
"DISA's selection of our DVB-RCS platform is SatNet's first entry into the U.S. defense market," said Don Osborne, senior vice president and general manager, EMS Satellite Networks. "We believe that the quality and credibility of DISA's selection process provides an excellent launch for our products into this important market, as well as another strong affirmation of the merits of the DVB-RCS open standard."
EMS's DVB-RCS products and technology solutions enable two-way broadband access for a wide range of networking applications. Applications range from Internet access and simple web browsing, to more sophisticated virtual private networks, wireless networking, videoconferencing and voice-over-IP. EMS's DVB-RCS solutions are the only multiple-access solutions capable of delivering data transfer rates of up to 45Mbps for downloads and up to 4Mbps for uploads at each remote terminal, or enough bandwidth to support anything from a small business to an entire community from a single remote terminal.
About EMS Technologies, Inc.
EMS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELMG) is a leading innovator in the design and manufacture of wireless, satellite and defense solutions, and focuses its unique range of advanced technologies on the needs of broadband and mobile information users. The Company is headquartered in Atlanta, has approximately 1,700 workers worldwide, and operates manufacturing facilities in Atlanta, Ottawa, Montreal and Brazil.
The Satellite Networks (SatNet) Division of EMS Technologies, based in Montreal, Canada, has played a critical role in the development of the DVB-RCS international open standard for high-speed bi-directional Internet communications via satellite, and is a leading provider of broadband satellite communications ground terminal and hub solutions.
For more information, visit EMS Satellite Networks on the World Wide Web at www.emssatnet.com.