NovAtel Inc., a precise positioning technology company, announced
today a 220,000 (Euro) contract award by the European Space Agency
(ESA). The contract is for the initial development phase of the Ground
Reference Receiver for the European Galileo program. Work on this
contract is to be completed by February 2003. Galileo is the EU’s
state-of-the-art Global Navigation Satellite System, which is expected
to be fully operable by 2008 with up to 30 satellites orbiting the
earth. NovAtel and ESA are also working toward replacing this interim
agreement with a full contract worth 500,000 Euros. Work under this
additional contract would be completed by the end of Q4 2003.
The primary objective of the contract is to develop requirements
for the Galileo Ground Reference Receiver (GRR). A secondary objective
is to confirm and verify the specified performance by creating a
software model of the receiver. NovAtel will also create a top-level
structural design for the GRR. The GRR program is anticipated to
subsequently progress through prototyping, full-scale development and
qualification, and through to production. GRR receivers will be
fielded at each Galileo reference site to provide constellation
monitoring information for the Galileo control network.
“As a Canadian supplier, this is an important opportunity for
NovAtel. To be selected by ESA for initial development of key Galileo
infrastructure is a very significant award,” said Tony Murfin,
NovAtel’s Vice President of Business Development. “The support we have
been given by Canada and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has allowed
NovAtel to bid and receive this contract. This award will be
instrumental in positioning NovAtel to develop and build GRR’s for the
Galileo program.”
NovAtel is the principle supplier of GPS receivers to ground
reference networks around the globe. Currently NovAtel supplies
receivers to national satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS)
including the U.S. WAAS, European EGNOS, Japanese MSAS, and Chinese
SNAS. The Company anticipates that as subsequent phases go forward,
NovAtel should be able to offer Galileo upgrades to these GPS ground
reference networks worldwide.
NovAtel Inc. is a leading provider of precise global positioning
and augmentation technologies designed to afford our customers rapid
integration and exceptional return on investment.
The Company’s core technology is being applied in diversified
positioning markets around the globe including agriculture, mining,
marine, surveying, unmanned systems and machine control. For more
information, visit www.novatel.com.
Certain statements in this news release constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the
actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or
developments in the Company’s industry, to differ materially from the
anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not
limited to, operating results of subsidiaries and joint ventures,
establishing and maintaining effective distribution channels,
certification and market acceptance of the Company’s new products,
impact and timing of large orders, credit risks of customers and joint
ventures, financing of joint ventures, 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 product, product
defects and the impact of industry consolidations, together with the
other risks and uncertainties described in Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations herein and
in the Company’s other filings with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission.
