NTT DATA Corporation (head office: Koto-ku; Tokyo, president: Tomokazu Hamaguchi), Geosurf Corporation (head office: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; president: Masayuki Uchiyama), Thales Navigation, Inc. (head office: California; president: Dean Senner, vice president: Neil Vancans), and Geodetics Inc. (head office: California; president: Dr. Yehuda Bock) have reached an agreement this month to carry out joint market development efforts in Japan, in the area of advanced Global Positioning System (GPS) applications. Among the GPS solutions to be offered to Japanese customers are highly precise monitoring of movements in the earth's crust and behavior tracking. The four companies plan to implement the agreement starting in December.

NTT DATA, Geosurf, and Geodetics have been working together since May of this year on GPS real-time network system sales in Japan. The addition of Thales Navigation to the partnership makes available that company's advanced GPS receiver technology, and will further strengthen the ability to provide systems for real-time earthquake monitoring.

Background: NTT DATA's Involvement in High Accuracy GPS
In June of this year, NTT DATA began marketing the real-time dynamics GPS network software system Geodetics RTD, which uses the technology of Geodetics to achieve real-time GPS data-based measurement at an accuracy within 1 cm. The system has already been introduced by Japanese research organizations in the field of earthquake and volcanic studies, by automobile manufacturers and others.

This system offers unprecedented measurement accuracy, making use of the revolutionary analytical algorithm Epoch-By-Epoch. Its real-time observations of small movements in the earth's crust related to earthquakes and volcanic activity, common occurrences in Japan, are expected to contribute importantly to real-time disaster protection and risk management efforts. Other possible applications include intelligent transport systems (ITS) and highly accurate behavior tracking.

Objectives of the New Agreement
NTT DATA is teaming with Thales Navigation, a worldwide manufacturer of high-accuracy GPS receivers, in order to accelerate its involvement in the field of position data, and to cultivate and expand business in Japan along with Geosurf and Geodetics, with which a partnership was formed earlier.

Thales Navigation is a leader in the GPS field, with its Ashtech and Magellan brands having established a solid reputation throughout the world. Its products bring highly advanced technology to a broad range of users, from consumers to professional fields requiring higher levels of positioning accuracy. Thanks to the new partnership, the Thales Navigation iCGRS System, a GPS receiver supporting IP networks, as well as other next-generation GPS technologies, will be combined with NTT DATA's own GIS and GPS solutions, making it possible for NTT DATA clients to actively pursue new businesses and service provision based on high-accuracy real-time positioning technology.

Future Plans
Combining its own technologies with the next-generation high-accuracy GPS technology of Thales Navigation, the revolutionary GPS monitoring solutions of Geodetics, and the GPS-related technologies of Geosurf, NTT DATA plans to step up its involvement in building vital Japanese infrastructure such as real-time earthquake warning and risk management systems, while pursuing business opportunities in ITS and other new areas.

NTT DATA estimates the Japanese market scale in these business areas will reach approximately 7 billion yen in 2005, and has set a sales target of 1 billion yen for that year.

*Epoch-by-Epoch is a registered trademark of Geodetics Inc.
*Other names of companies, products, and services appearing in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Reference