MeshNetworks to Provide Position-Location and Personnel Tracking Solution to Orange County Fire and Rescue
IBM Global Services Acting as the Systems Integrator for State-of-the-Art Wireless Deployment

MAITLAND, FL - August 12, 2003 - MeshNetworks Inc., an industry leader in the development and commercialization of location-aware mobile broadband networking solutions today announced that Orange County Fire and Rescue (OCFRD) has begun a field trial of the company’s MeshNetworks Enabled Architecture (MEA™) technology. OCFRD is actively working with MeshNetworks to accelerate the development of a rapid-deployment, in-building personnel tracking system for use by first responders. IBM Corporation is acting as the systems integrator for the OCFRD project. Since its launch in December 2002, MeshNetworks’ MEA solution has gained wide acceptance in Public Safety, Intelligent Transportation and other markets.

OCFRD, the department responsible for all fire, emergency medical and rescue services in Orange County, Florida, will conduct an extensive evaluation under real-world first responder conditions. Feedback from the evaluation will be incorporated into future commercial versions of the product. The MEA system being evaluated is also capable of supporting voice, video and megabit data communications in addition to its location and tracking capabilities.

"Protecting the community and our firefighters is priority one. Sometimes things go wrong. When they do, knowing the exact location of firefighters in a building is the difference between going home to family - or not,” said Bill Godfrey, Deputy Chief of Orange County Fire and Rescue. “MeshNetworks has put on the table the technology for real-time location of first responders in a building, and Orange County Fire Rescue is committed to validating that technology. This may save firefighters' lives, and we couldn't be more excited."

When deployed as part of a wide area MEA mobile broadband network, incident commanders can monitor and direct their units via voice, video, and data-enhanced communications either at the scene or remotely. Automatic vehicle location (AVL) and asset tracking are also available throughout the MEA network.

“First responders have a clear need for the position location and incident communications solutions offered by MeshNetworks,” said Chris Couper, IBM Distinguished Engineer and a retired firefighter. “The technology is also suited for a wide variety of Homeland Security and Public Safety initiatives because of its ability to support voice, video, data and position-location from a single integrated, and interoperable mobile broadband network.”

The self-forming, self-healing networking technology developed by MeshNetworks enables emergency personnel to instantly communicate with each other, to public safety networks, the Internet and other state and federal systems. This coupled with its end-to-end support for industry standard Internet Protocol (IP), ensures transparency between a wide variety of devices, databases and interagency networks. The result is a robust, tactical communications system for first responders, even in the most remote or adverse emergency situations.

About MeshNetworks
MeshNetworks delivers innovative mobile broadband network solutions based on patented ad hoc peer-to-peer technology. The Company’s MeshNetworks Enabled Architecture (MEA™) provides wireless broadband connectivity to fixed, portable and mobile devices. Voice, video, data, telemetry and position-location are supported to specifically meet the needs of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Public Safety, and First Responder applications. MeshNetworks offers these solutions through OEMs, System Integrators, and Value Added Resellers.

For more information on how to purchase our products,
please contact us at sales@meshnetworks.com