ASHBURN Va. -- MCI today announced that the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded MCI a seven-year contract to provide high-speed satellite data communications solutions to more than 90 meteorological locations worldwide. Part of the NOAA World Area Forecast System, MCI's Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) service enables NOAA to quickly and easily gather and distribute millions of bits of vital weather-related information to government and private organizations around the world - with maximum dependability and cost effectiveness.

The ubiquitous reach of MCI's satellite solution - one of the largest international earth station gateway networks of any U.S. carrier - makes it possible for NOAA to collect and disseminate information essential to the nation's security, environment and quality of life, from almost anywhere in the world. MCI satellite technology permits NOAA to deliver advanced, voice, data and Internet solutions to areas where traditional access products are unavailable or are prohibitively expensive.

Information collected by NOAA, including weather forecasting, climate monitoring, fire detection, ozone monitoring and surface temperature measurement, is used by government organizations around the world to help save lives, safeguard the environment and protect the economy. For example, information collected by NOAA allows weather forecasters to provide better warnings of thunderstorms, winter storms, flash floods, hurricanes, and other severe weather systems. This information is particularly important for air, sea and land transportation management - especially air traffic controllers around the world - as they make decisions that affect the safety of millions of travelers each day.

"NOAA's vision to maintain a highly-reliable data solution that can be utilized regardless of an organization's location or lack of communications infrastructure, is exactly what MCI VSAT was designed to deliver," said Jerry Edgerton, senior vice president of MCI Government and Outsourcer Markets. "With people's lives and livelihood hinging on the performance of the network and NOAA's ability to distribute information, the term 'mission critical' takes on an even deeper meaning. The award of this contract is a testament to MCI's networking capabilities and our ability to provide high-quality, reliable services."

As one of the largest telecommunications providers to the federal government, MCI provides worldwide services to more than 75 U.S. government agencies.

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