TeleCommunication Systems Announces Availability of Ultra-Rugged Galatea(TM) Solid-State Drive

   TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (NASDAQ: TSYS), a world leader in highly reliable and secure mobile communication technology, today announced the availability of its ultra-rugged Galatea™ solid-state drive (SSD) that provides high performance for a wide range of computer and vehicle applications operating in the harshest environments. Manufactured in America at TCS' AS9100-certified facility, Galatea works across industrial temperature ranges and has been verified by outside laboratories to meet MIL-STD-810 requirements for shock, vibration, temperature range, temperature shock, humidity and altitude.

"Few solid-state drives combine the quality, data capacity and ruggedization features of Galatea," said Michael Bristol, senior vice president and general manager of TCS' Government Solutions Group. "It is ideal for a wide range of extreme industrial and defense applications, including oil and gas exploration, avionics and data logging in a variety of air, land and sea vehicles. Galatea combines superior access latency and power consumption performance with long-term reliability."

Galatea takes data security to new levels by combining 128-bit AES encryption with high-speed, full-drive erasure in less than 15 seconds. It provides high performance for the most demanding applications, fitting 200GB of user data into a standard 9.5mm, 2.5-inch case while delivering sustained read/write rates of 280MB/s and random read/write rates over 40,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS), which is four times faster than competing products. In the event of an unexpected power failure, Galatea has built-in power backup to prevent data loss.

Other features of Galatea include:

• Advanced error correction, which pushes the bit error rate a full two orders of magnitude beyond the industry standard
• Exclusive write optimization and wear-leveling techniques, which reduce erase/program cycles and achieve a 20-fold increase in media life expectancy over basic flash media
• Standard SATA revision 2.6 interface, which allows drop-in replacement of hard drives without the need for special drivers or software
• Industrial-temperature single-level cell flash memory, which provides data retention of more than 10 years and write endurance of more than 20,000 terabytes
• Fast data erasure, which can be initiated by hardware switch or software command

Visit TCS at AFCEA West 2012 booth #803 in San Diego to see Galatea on display. AFCEA West 2012 will take place January 24-26 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.

TCS' Space & Component Technology division serves the space community with high-reliability components and a broad range of services essential to long-life spacecraft. TCS has performed total parts management for nearly every major space agency worldwide and has supplied components, parts and materials for more than 150 spacecraft manufactured in Europe, Asia and the Americas. TCS specializes in ultra-rugged SSDs for the most demanding environments, offering both customized and industry-standard configurations for military, aerospace and industrial applications.

About TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (NASDAQ: TSYS) is a world leader in highly reliable and secure mobile communication technology. TCS infrastructure forms the foundation for market-leading solutions in E9-1-1, text messaging, commercial location and deployable wireless communications. TCS is at the forefront of new mobile cloud computing services, providing wireless applications for navigation, hyper-local search, asset tracking, social applications and telematics. Millions of consumers around the world use TCS wireless apps as a fundamental part of their daily lives. Government agencies utilize TCS' cybersecurity expertise, professional services and highly secure deployable satellite solutions for mission-critical communications. Headquartered in Annapolis, MD, TCS maintains technical, service and sales offices around the world. To learn more about emerging and innovative wireless technologies, visit www.telecomsys.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and are based upon TCS' current expectations and assumptions that if incorrect would cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Risks include without limitation those detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, and on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011.

Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, or otherwise.

Company Contact: TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. Meredith Allen 410-295-1865 [e-mail] Media Contact: Nadel Phelan, Inc. Graham Sorkin 831-440-2406 [e-mail] Investor Relations: Liolios Group, Inc. Scott Liolios 949-574-3860 [e-mail]