IDC Announces International Distance Learning Contracts: Orders Demonstrates IDC's Position as World Leader in Distance Learning Content Distribution

Business Wire, August 28, 2000

Business Editors

OTTAWA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2000

International Datacasting Corporation (TSE:IDC.) announced several new strategic contracts to supply distance learning infrastructure and solutions with an aggregate value exceeding CDN$1 million.

Ron Clifton, President and CEO of IDC stated, "The Distance Learning market continues to be one of our main focuses. Our systems are ideally suited to the new paradigms of distance learning and the distribution of multimedia broadband content course materials. Over the last year we have worked with leading organizations to build networks that connect educational centers to their remote users for education at all levels. The international trend to open standards and protocols is making it possible to connect the world as never before and IDC is at the leading edge of providing solutions. We are very pleased to have our technology and experience bring exciting new opportunities to students around the world and are particularly excited about the installation of our first distance learning network in Asia."

The new contracts booked include the following: 1) The Instituto Latinamericano de la Comunicacion Educativa (ILCE) in Mexico City has placed a new order with IDC to build a high-speed data teleport to deliver distance education and Internet content to users across Mexico and throughout Latin America. Since 1998, IDC has been working with ILCE on an advanced plan to deliver Internet data, streaming media, video on demand, and multimedia teaching tools directly to schools by satellite-particularly to remote areas under-served by terrestrial infrastructure. The network has grown to include receive sites in every state in Mexico. ILCE, an inter-governmental organization based in Mexico, is a regional leader in the field of educational video programming, providing five of the country's nine EduSat channels that reach an estimated 34,000 schools.

2) The Virtual University of the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, in Mexico (ITESM or the "Tec de Monterrey") has selected IDC as the "vendor-of-choice" for its business education network, UVE. Along with this selection, ITESM initiated a follow-on order for three hundred receivers, which represents a 25% expansion of the current system. ITESM is an internationally recognized leader in distance education with 80,000 remote students enrolled in 45 post-graduate degree programs. UVE (the Virtual Business University) is rolling out expanded corporate training service and expects to grow by another several thousand receive sites in the next year.

3) CIDA INC, the Canadian International Development Agency, Industrial Cooperation Division, is lending its formal support, including funding, to IDC's plans to examine new distribution and infrastructure solutions to the Latin American Distance Education market. Building on its international experience in the distance learning and content distribution markets, IDC will be working with private and public institutions from different countries to identify opportunities, create system designs, and develop a business strategy to serve the distance education market. The first phase of the project will take place in five Latin American countries.

IDC's project leader, Brent Bergeron, commented, "Our efforts will provide solutions to the obstacles of distance, geography, and under-developed infrastructure currently hindering implementation of the latest education technology in the region. This project will put IDC's expertise at the service of CIDA INC's emerging countries development mandate."

4) Zhejiang University in China has implemented a Distance Education network using IDC's SuperFlex satellite datacasting system. Zhejiang University will use the network to broadcast multimedia educational materials to remote schools across China.

About International Datacasting Corporation

IDC (TSE:IDC) provides advanced systems and services for the broadband satellite distribution of digital data in a variety of point-to-multipoint applications. With an existing base in 35 countries worldwide, IDC is at the forefront of delivering IP-based satellite datacasting solutions. Applications for IDC's products include high-speed Internet-via-satellite networks, Enterprise networks, distance education networks, radio networks, business radio networks, weather networks, financial information and paging networks. IDC is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, has a US sales office in Atlanta, Georgia and markets internationally through an established network of partners and distributors. Visit IDC on the web at http://www.intldata.ca.