Racom Awarded Smart Card Contract in Asia
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 1998--Racom Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCOM - news), a leading provider of contactless smart card technology solutions, announced today that it has been awarded a contract by Transmac Transportes Urbanos De Macau (''Transmac''), of Macau.
Transmac, operator of the national bus system for the island country near Hong Kong, will use the cards and readers to automate fare collection. With implementation of the system scheduled for completion before the end of 1998, each Transmac bus will be equipped with a Racom smart card reader so bus pass holders can conveniently pay fares via Racom's industry leading contactless smart card technology. This initial phase of the project is valued at more than US$250,000. Over the life of the project, Racom expects to deliver more than 100,000 cards and several hundred card readers to Transmac.
''Transmac's selection of Racom's technology reinforces our strategy to provide solutions in major vertical markets, such as transportation, that go beyond the scope of traditional smart card applications,'' said Art Rancis, President and CEO of Racom Systems. ''We look forward to expanding our relationship with Transmac and to the development of future opportunities within Asia.''
''We are very pleased to have selected Racom's contactless smart card technology,'' said Alfred Liu, Managing Director, Transmac. ''Racom's technology provides the superior speed and needed durability that is required for our transit properties. It was imperative that our system have superior durability given the harsh weather conditions in Macau. Racom's contactless cards meet all of our stringent testing requirements for functionality in this environment.''
Smart cards are a superior replacement to other transit-type media such as coin, tokens and passes. A single Racom smart card can carry multiple versions of all three of these media, thus streamlining system use and administration. Contactless smart cards, like those supplied by Racom, provide the speed and reliability required to handle the multitude of transactions required in today's modern transit system. Smart cards virtually eliminate the tremendous cost of handling money and media and only Racom's contactless smart cards guarantee a card lifetime in the billions of transactions over the life of the card. This helps to minimize the cost of card failures, as compared to other smart card technology.
Transmac - Tansportes Urbanos De Macau S.A.R.L. is one of the two government franchised public bus operators in Macau and is currently the largest operator. Transmac owns 314 fully air-conditioned buses of various types and transports over 150,000 passengers daily, commuting between destinations of more than 20 routes, including the Macau International Airport. The Monthly Bus Pass was introduced in March of 1991. Monthly Pass holders using a Racom smart card can ride any Transmac bus with unlimited rides throughout a given month. This is a unique feature in the public transportation industry and has been very well received by Macau residents. Transmac is a member of a motor and transportation group with interests in motor car dealerships and public transportation. Besides being a public transportation operator in Macau, Transmac also operates public bus services in PRC Guangzhou with a fleet of 399 buses. For further information about Transmac and their Auto-fare Collection System, contact them at Estrada Marginal da Ilha Verde, 2 R/C, Macau, by telephone, 853 233232, by fax, 853 234416 or via e-mail at transmac@macau.ctm.net.
Racom Systems, Inc., headquartered in Denver, Colorado, develops and markets smart card-based systems that automate transactions for electronic commerce, information technology, physical and logical access control, and industrial automation. Racom's system applications are designed to deliver solutions that provide secure, convenient and personalized access to money, information, property, and services. For further information about Racom, its technology and products, contact Racom via e-mail at info@racom.com, at its Web address, racom.com, by telephone at (303) 771-2077, or by fax at (303) 771-4708.
Investors should carefully consider the preceding information as well as other information contained in this press release before making an investment in the Common Stock. Information contained in this press release contains ''forward-looking statements'' which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as ''believes,'' expects,'' ''may,'' ''should,'' or anticipates'' or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy. No assurance can be given that the future results covered by the forward-looking statements will be achieved. The preceding matters constitute cautionary statements identifying important factors with respect to such forward-looking statements, including certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from the future results covered in such forward-looking statements. Other factors could also cause actual results to vary materially from the future results covered in such forward-looking statements.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Racom Systems, Inc., Denver
Michele Carpino, Marketing
Tel. (303) 773-7403
Fax (303) 771-4708
or
Guy Murrel, Murrel Public Relations
Tel. (303) 581-7760
Fax (303) 581-7762
or
Marty Cohen, Investor Relations
Tel. (972) 771-6783
Fax (972)771-4541 |
