Under the terms of the agreement, subject to completion of definitive documentation, Orbital also will provide up to $150 million in financing to CCI International through both equity investment and vendor financing.

"Our team at CCI International is impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit and vision shown by Orbital Sciences Corporation," said Dr. C.J.(Jerry) Waylan, president and chief executive officer of CCI and CCI International. "We believe that our selection of Orbital as a satellite manufacturer, coupled with our phased approach to establishing global telecommunications service, will enable us to best serve our customers."

The 12 satellites to be manufactured by Orbital represent the first of two phases of satellites authorized for CCI in July 1997 by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The satellites will be capable of providing telephony services to more than one million subscribers located within a band spanning the Earth between 23 degrees north latitude and 23 degrees south latitude. This area -- comprised of more than 75 countries -- contains nearly one-quarter of the world's population. Scheduled to be constructed by early 2001 and operational by the third quarter, the ECCO Equatorial satellite constellation will provide voice and data services to subscribers via hand-held, vehicle-mounted or stationary telephones.

"We're very impressed by CCI International's excellent management team and strong business approach to the satellite telephony market," said David Thompson, chairman and chief executive officer of Orbital Sciences Corp. "We're convinced that the ECCO system will provide high quality mobile and fixed communications to unserved and underserved regions of the world at the lowest cost among all LEO satellite networks."

Orbital is a space and information systems company that designs, manufactures, operates and markets a broad range of affordable space infrastructure systems, satellite access products and satellite services, including launch vehicles, satellites, sensors and electronics, satellite ground systems and software, satellite-based navigation and communications products, and satellite-delivered fixed and mobile communications and Earth imaging services.

Constellation Communications Inc. (CCI) is a Delaware company formed in 1991 with headquarters in Fairfax, Virgina, U.S. In 1997, CCI established CCI International N.V. in the Netherlands Antilles to design, build and launch the satellites comprising the ECCO satellite system. CCI International's shareholders include Bell Atlantic Global Wireless Inc., Raytheon E-Systems Inc. and SpaceVest.