Echelon's LONWORKS Control Network Technology Voted into IEEE Standard

Business Wire, August 10, 1999

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 1999--

Echelon Corporation (Nasdaq:ELON) today announced that the firm's LONWORKS(R) control networking technology is part of the new IEEE 1473-1999 standard for train communications.

LONWORKS is used for braking, propulsion control, destination signage, locomotive control, fault monitoring, climate control, and wayside signaling worldwide, and the new IEEE standard solidifies the position of LONWORKS as a standard for building open, interoperable components for railway applications.

"LONWORKS has been an open de facto standard in the rail industry for some time, and there are many transportation applications worldwide that use LONWORKS," said Beatrice Yormark, vice president of marketing and sales for Echelon Corporation. "We're very gratified to see that LONWORKS control technology is now also an official standard as part of the new IEEE standard."

The IEEE established a passenger train communication working group in 1996 with the goal of allowing intracar and intercar communications between products from different manufacturers. Establishing a common communication protocol will enable rail car manufacturers to select from a broader range of suppliers, simplify the tasks of constructing and maintaining rail cars, and provide railway management with the ability to make competitive purchasing decisions without being limited by compatibility issues.

According to a study done for the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences, IEEE 1473-1999 will result in less car wiring, lower weight, and improved systems integration, reliability, and maintainability. Savings are estimated to top $56 million a year.

LONWORKS transit projects are underway at New York City Transit, the New Jersey Transit Authority, Bay Area Rapid Transit District, San Francisco Municipal Railway, Deutsche Bundesbahn (Germany), and the RATP Meteor line (France).

To facilitate guidelines for the use of LONWORKS systems in the transportation industry, the LONMARK(R) Interoperability Association recently formed a Transportation Task group, co-chaired by Gene Sansone of New York City Transit and Transportation Systems Design's Tom Sullivan, who has held management positions with New York City Transit and the San Francisco Municipal Railway.

"Many vendors in our industry are already shipping LONWORKS products," said Sullivan. "The adoption of open IEEE standards for railway applications will help promote competitiveness at every stage of the supply chain by ensuring multivendor interoperability. It will also greatly simplify life for railway and transit authority management."

Information on the Task group can be found in the Transportation section of the Solutions area on the LONMARK website at www.lonmark.org.

About Echelon Corporation

Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ:ELON) is the developer of LONWORKS networks, recognized internationally as a standard for interoperable control networks. With thousands of application developers and millions of devices installed worldwide, LONWORKS is a leading open, networked control solution for building and home automation, industrial, transportation, and public utility applications. Echelon offers a full range of off-the-shelf hardware and software products to support the development, installation and management of intelligent, open and interoperable control networks.

Echelon is based in Palo Alto, California with international offices in China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. News and information are available at www.echelon.com.

The Lonmark Interoperability Association

Since its inception in May 1994, the LONMARK Interoperability Association has become a major driving force in the establishment of interoperable standards for building, industrial and residential/utility automation. LONMARK membership is open to any manufacturer, end user, and system integrator committed to the development and use of open, interoperable products using multivendor LONWORKS control networks.

Further information on the LONMARK Interoperability Association and its members can be found on the LONMARK Association website at www.lonmark.org.

Note to Editors: Echelon, the Echelon logo, LONWORKS, and LONMARK are registered trademarks of Echelon Corporation registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

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