Under terms of the agreement, Globalstar will use TIBCO's TIB(R)/Rendezvous(TM) middleware technology to enhance the speed, efficiency and scalability of operations that control and monitor the entire satellite network and to ensure the proper functioning of individual satellites.

Globalstar is a low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite-based telecommunications system that will offer high quality global telephony, data, fax, and position location services to areas currently underserved by existing wireline and cellular telecommunications systems. More than 40 of the 48 Globalstar satellites will be launched in 1998, with service beginning in 1999.

"Real-time information exchange in our satellite control centers will be critical to the future success of the Globalstar system," said John M. Klineberg, Globalstar's executive vice president of satellite constellation establishment. "Our use of TIBCO proven messaging software will allow us to provide our customers around the world with a flexible and reliable telecommunications system that meets their individual needs."

The decision to use TIBCO's messaging technology in the control centers was made after simulated tests indicated TIBCO software outperformed other technology solutions, providing a high-speed, highly scaleable information distribution framework.

"TIBCO's technology has been proving itself for twelve years in the harshest and most innovative IT environments around the world, from Wall Street trading rooms to semiconductor manufacturing sites. It is only fitting that Globalstar will be using TIBCO's reliable and efficient technology to build the communications infrastructure of the next century," said Vivek RanadivE, chairman and CEO, TIBCO Software. "We are excited to be a part of Globalstar's innovative telecommunications project."

Satellite Operations Control Centers (SOCCs)

Globalstar's two SOCCs, located in San Jose and El Dorado Hills, near Sacramento, California, control the entire Globalstar satellite network. These control centers monitor telemetry data from Globalstar satellites, ensuring their proper functioning and the performance of the overall system. TIB/Rendezvous ensures that data is routed, in real-time, across SOCC terminals so that on-orbit satellites can be monitored and any problems detected and corrected immediately.

About TIBCO Software Inc.

TIBCO's software is now a de facto standard for enterprise-wide event-driven computing in finance, manufacturing, construction, electronic commerce and other industries. Dozens of companies have endorsed TIBCO software for Internet/intranet applications. Among those companies that have announced alliances with TIBCO are: IBM, Cisco Systems, 3Com, Microsoft, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Informix, i2 Technologies, and Deloitte and Touche.

TIBCO is an international market leader and pioneer in software tools and services for building distributed applications that provide event-driven and real-time information exchange throughout the enterprise. The company developed and patented publish/subscribe technologies that allow for interapplication communications across heterogeneous environments.

Based in Palo Alto, Calif., TIBCO Software, Inc. was formed in 1997 from TIBCO Inc., a company which first became prominent by supplying information management systems to financial trading rooms. TIBCO Inc. was acquired in 1994 by Reuters Group PLC, the international news and financial information services group. TIBCO Software is majority-owned by Reuters.