Under the contract, ComSat Laboratories will provide a new system for Intelsat to manage its Time Division Multiple Access (TMDA) Networks, which are used by major telecommunications carriers to transmit their public telephone services worldwide. Intelsat owns and operates a global satellite system, providing voice, data, video, and Internet services to over 200 countries and territories.

"One of ComSat's strategic goals has been to commercialize the Laboratories by marketing its satellite technology, service and product expertise," said ComSat President and Chief Executive Officer Betty C. Alewine. "This very significant contract from Intelsat caps a successful year of commercialization efforts, delivers increased value to ComSat shareholders, and lays the groundwork for expanded commercial activities in the years ahead.

"ComSat Laboratories has provided much of the expertise -- including development of TDMA technology -- that has driven the commercial satellite communications industry over the past 30 years," Alewine added. "This contract builds upon the Laboratories' leadership position in TDMA technology, and its role as a developer and supplier of low-cost TDMA terminals used by telecommunications carriers all over the world to access the Intelsat system."

TDMA technology allows multiple customers to share the same satellite channel, by assigning each customer a unique period of time, on a cyclic basis, to access the satellite and send a high speed burst transmission. The combination of high speed and frequent transmission makes the process transparent to the user.

The new Intelsat system will include Reference Terminal Equipment, which provides fundamental system timing like a master clock; TDMA System Monitor equipment, which monitors the transmission quality; and a TDMA Network Monitoring System, providing overall control and management.

The upgrade of the existing infrastructure is designed to make the Intelsat 120 Mbps TDMA system more efficient and less expensive to operate, and could enable Intelsat to more than double the number of customer terminals that can access each Network. With the new system, Intelsat also will be able to control all TDMA Networks from its headquarters building in Washington, DC, instead of the current system that is administered from four separate earth station locations.

"International telecommunications traffic continues to grow rapidly," said ComSat Laboratories President Dr. Benjamin Pontano. "ComSat's TDMA technology allows Intelsat to support these increases in traffic to both developed and developing countries worldwide."

ComSat Laboratories will be leading a contract team slated to include Hughes Network Systems, Germantown, Md.; Hollis Electronics, Amherst, N.H.; and Century Computing, Laurel, Md. ComSat's contract with Intelsat commences in December 1998.

Some of the statements in this news release are forward-looking and relate to anticipated future operating results. Forward-looking statements are based on ComSat management's current expectations and assumptions, which may be affected by business conditions and by other subsequent developments, and necessarily involve risks and uncertainties. Therefore, there can be no assurance that actual future results will not differ materially from anticipated results. Readers should refer to ComSat's disclosure documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Corporation's recent Forms 1O-K and 1O-Q, for specific details on some of the factors that may affect operating results.

ComSat Laboratories, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of ComSat Corporation, provides technical consulting and advanced communications products to customers worldwide. ComSat Corporation (NYSE: CQ - news), headquartered in Bethesda, Md., is a global provider of satellite services and digital networking services and technology.

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