TCS Places Identifies Local Services and Their Precise Locations: "TCS Places Identifies Local Services and Their Precise Locations"

location based services

LAS VEGAS, NV, -- CTIA Booth 1635 -- TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (NASDAQ: TSYS), a leading provider of mission-critical wireless communications, today announced the availability of TCS Places and TCS Handset Locator, two new services that wireless carriers and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) can offer to their subscribers and which leverage the carrier's location infrastructure.

TCS Places is an innovative service that provides the means for subscribers to have instant access to their content and services while "on-the-go." Newspapers, travel services, local content providers and media companies can now offer location-relevant content, based on a subscriber's precise location. Subscribers can access maps to explore an area and they can obtain directions to a restaurant, store or other place of interest. The TCS Places application works with existing location infrastructure, whether tower-triangulation or Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite. TCS Places was recently named a semi-finalist in the 2006 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge and is available now.

The second location-based service TCS is unveiling at CTIA is TCS Handset Locator. One of the leading causes of churn -- or customer turnover -- is de-activation of handsets due to lost and stolen phones. With the introduction of TCS Handset Locator, the first service of its kind in the industry, carriers can now offer their subscribers a "find my cell phone" service to locate missing handsets. If a handset is lost, stolen or misplaced, subscribers can go online and access a Web portal to find the last location of the missing phone and the determine the current battery level. When the phone reaches a critically low battery level, the service will automatically determine the handset's location so that a "last known location" can be accessed by the user. The service is billed monthly or on a per-use basis. TCS Handset Locator will be available later this year.

"With the introduction of these two new location-based services, TCS continues to demonstrate our innovation and market leadership in developing and delivering services that subscribers demand while opening up new lines of revenue for carriers," said Drew Morin, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for TCS. "What if you could recover your lost cell phone? How many times have you been in an unfamiliar area and you needed to find a gas station or a place to eat? These services address the all-too-familiar situations."

TCS will demonstrate TCS Handset Locator and TCS Places in TCS' booth, number 1635, at Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) Wireless 2006, the wireless industry's largest international tradeshow, being held April 5-7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada.

ABOUT TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, INC.
TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (NASDAQ: TSYS) is a leading provider of mission-critical wireless communications to carriers, enterprise and government customers. TCS-designed systems include location-relevant solutions for consumer brands. TCS' wireless data offerings include location-based Enhanced 9-1-1 services, and messaging and location service infrastructure for wireless operators; real-time market data and alerts to financial institutions; mobile asset management and mobile office solutions for enterprises; and encrypted satellite communications to government customers. For more information, visit TCS in booth 1635 at CTIA Wireless 2006 in Las Vegas or the company's Web site at telecomsys.com.