Deliver Your News to the World

ITN -- UK’s Largest Television News Supplier -- Selects Norsat


WEBWIRE –

Vancouver, BC, 02/10/2005 -- Norsat International Inc. (OTC BB: NSATF) (TSX: NII) announced today that ITN, United Kingdom’s largest television news supplier, has selected the Norsat NewsLink™ to enable live and timely broadcasts of breaking news stories from around the world. The terminal will also be used to carry live exchanges between a nightly news anchor, based in a news hot spot, and the studio in London. The Norsat NewsLink™ will be shipped in the first quarter.

Malcolm Smith, Head of Operational Engineering, ITN, explains that a number of factors favored his group’s decision to purchase the Norsat NewsLink, “It is ’airline-checkable’ and lighter than other options. You can also do live transmissions at broadcast quality. From a timing perspective, it made sense as well. There are now many more high-powered satellites available, and the compression techniques are much improved. We felt comfortable that the Norsat NewsLink could be relied upon for live broadcasts around the world.”

The Norsat NewsLink™ terminal is optimized for satellite newsgathering operations and can be deployed on short notice. “It can be checked in as baggage on a commercial airliner and we’ll be able to start using it as soon as we arrive at a location. This is a big advantage because can get breaking stories on the air much faster,” explains Malcolm Smith.

The decision to purchase the Norsat NewsLink™ was the result of an extensive evaluation. “We came to this decision after evaluating several alternatives and putting the Norsat NewsLink™ through its paces during a trial period,” explains Malcolm Smith.

“To count ITN amongst your clients is a real honor. ITN is the recipient of several Emmys and 60 Royal Television Society awards. They have high standards, and we are thrilled by this very coveted endorsement,” commented Cameron Hunter, President and CEO, Norsat International.

ITN is the UK’s largest commercial television broadcaster is a preferred source of news for the flagship news program, London Tonight at 6pm on weekday evenings and ITV Evening News at 6.30 pm.

About Norsat International Inc.

Norsat International Inc. designs, engineers and markets satellite products for high-speed data transmission. For more than 25 years, Norsat has built a strong reputation in the field of satellite technology by providing its customers with innovative products and has now sold over 2.5 million products in 87 countries around the world. Norsat’s latest innovation is the Norsat OmniLink™ line of portable satellite terminal products that provide rapidly deployable broadband satellite data and video connectivity in areas where traditional communications infrastructure is insufficient, damaged, or non-existent.

About ITN

ITN is one of the world’s leading and most efficient news producers. From its main production studios in London, where most of its 800 plus employees are based, ITN provides news programming for ITV1, the ITV News Channel, Channel 4, and Independent Radio News (IRN). ITN’s combined news broadcasts reach over two-thirds of the population, making it one of the leading news providers in the UK. The company has a strong reputation for the efficient use of modern technology (winning the Royal Television Society’s 2004 Innovation Award) and optimizes the use of its IP through ITN Archive -- which is both the biggest commercial news archive and TV-based video archive in the world with a library of over 650,000 hours of footage -- and through producing factual documentaries and programming, and streaming news and entertainment content to 3G phones.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release relating to matters that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to general economic conditions, changes in technology, reliance on third-party manufacturing, managing rapid growth, global sales risks, limited intellectual property protection and other risks and uncertainties described in Norsat’s public filings with securities regulatory authorities.

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