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American Millennium Corporation Announces General Motors Purchase of 50 Satellite Systems For Fleet Deployment
GOLDEN, Colo., Jan. 20, 2000 - American Millennium Corporation, Inc.
(AMCI) (OTC:AMCI) announced today that General Motors Corporation (NYSE:GM) has issued a
purchase order to AMCI for 50 Subscriber Communicators (SCs), antennas, and vehicle interface
boards to be used for tracking and communication with GM vehicles via the ORBCOMM low-Earth
orbit (LEO) satellite system.
According to AMCI VP of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer Bruce R. Bacon, "the General
Motors Truck Group (GMTG) will utilize these 50 systems for the first deployment in their fleet of test
vehicles. With one of these systems installed in the vehicle, from the desktop and using only a web
browser, GMTG's staff can see where the vehicle is located on a map, view engine start and stop
events, and communicate directly with the vehicle's onboard data network. The ability to have
affordable worldwide wireless communication with the electronic modules in the vehicle is revolutionary.
Near real-time access to vehicle diagnostic and operating data opens up all kinds of pre- and
post-production opportunities," Bacon said.
Additionally, Bacon noted that GMTG encompasses GM's lines of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) such
as the Jimmy, Blazer, Suburban, Yukon, and Tahoe, small pickups, the Silverado and Sierra light trucks,
the van and utility vehicle lines, and medium-duty commercial trucks.
"It has been extremely gratifying to work with engineers from GM, ORBCOMM, and Dolphin
Software in order to take this AMCI-ORBCOMM remote tracking and communication solution to the
next level with the world's largest automobile manufacturer. AMCI had originally provided two SCs to
GM for testing proof of concept, which was in turn followed by the purchase of 12 units by GM for
further testing and software development in a pilot program," Bacon stated.
"This volume purchase validates our opinion that low-cost satellite-based solutions are the future of
tracking, monitoring, and communication with widely mobile assets. Unlike terrestrial wireless data
networks, which rely on a patchwork system of towers optimized primarily to cover population centers,
the ORBCOMM satellites pass over the entire globe providing ubiquitous nationwide and worldwide
geographic coverage," he continued.
Andrew F. Cauthen, CEO and President of AMCI, commented, "We are very enthusiastic about the
sale of these SCs and other hardware to GM and the following revenue from the monthly sale of airtime
that goes with each unit. This is where our recurring monthly revenue is generated and we look forward
to a continuing enrollment of subscribers for AMCI's services. We believe that there exists a huge
market for low-cost monthly monitoring with the kind of mass-market appeal that brings the service
within economic reach of nearly everyone in almost any situation.
"To say the least, this order by GM is a stellar event for all of us at AMCI. It is the positive result of a
lot of hard work by our engineers and staff to achieve these creative and innovative solutions," Cauthen
said.
AMCI has previously made announcements regarding deployment of its satellite-based remote
monitoring services in the petroleum industry. SCs have been installed on oil and natural gas production
and distribution equipment. Data such as flow rates, pressures, temperatures, and shutdown alarms
collected at those sites are sent via the ORBCOMM system to our call center when immediate action is
required. The data is also sent to web servers for later review and analysis by the equipment operators
and owners.
To date, AMCI has deployed its systems on oil and gas wells and pipeline stations for such
companies as Griffin Petroleum, Hanover Corporation (NYSE:HE), which operates high output natural
gas compressors for Chevron (NYSE:CHV), Cabot Oil and Gas (NYSE:COG), Compressor Systems,
Inc., and Cross Timbers Oil and Gas (NYSE:XTO).
"After much field testing and continued demonstration of AMCI's capabilities, it is our experience that
the oil and gas industry is finally recognizing the significant savings by collecting data and alarms remotely
for a few dollars a day compared to daily on-site visits. The benefit of nearly immediate notification of a
shutdown or systems failure is highly valuable, since in certain cases, days can go by before the
malfunction is discovered by a physical visit," Bacon observed.
AMCI is a licensed value-added reseller for ORBCOMM USA, L.P. that provides two-way
monitoring, tracking, and messaging service through the world's first commercial low-Earth orbit satellite
based data communications system. ORBCOMM is a partnership owned by Orbital Sciences
Corporation (NYSE:ORB) and Teleglobe, Inc. of Canada, (NYSE, TSE:TGO).
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties that could
cause the company's actual results and experience to differ materially from anticipated results and
expectations expressed herein. In particular, AMCI's plans may be revised, and its actual results may
differ materially from that indicated by its current plans.
AMCI's web page address is http://www.amc-wireless.com.
www.amc-wireless.com
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