Sumitomo Electric Networks Licenses Additional Espial® Evo® IPTV Application for Next Generation Set-Top Box

Units Shipped with Espial IPTV Software Surpass 250,000

Ottawa, Canada – Espial® Group Inc. (TSX: ESP), a leading provider of IPTV middleware and applications, today announced that Sumitomo Electric Networks, Inc., a leading supplier of broadband access equipment in Japan, has licensed an additional application of Espial’s Evo IPTV Service Platform for use with Sumitomo’s IPTV set-top boxes (STBs). This add-on client functionality builds on previously licensed modules including Evo Browser and Adobe Flash™ Plug-In . Shipments of Sumitomo set-top boxes with licensed Espial software have already exceeded 250,000 units to leading Japanese service providers, widely known to include NTT Group.

The new Evo application, which cannot be disclosed due to customer confidentiality reasons, enables Japanese service providers to deploy next generation digital TV functionality, meeting a critical requirement for continued wide-scale adoption of IPTV in Japan.

“Sumitomo’s licensing of this new Evo application broadens our partnership and improves our opportunities in the Japanese market,” said Jaison Dolvane, Espial President and CEO. “It is an honour that Sumitomo has relied on Espial again to provide additional capabilities to address these evolving requirements. We look forward to working with Sumitomo to complete the integration phase and target next generation IPTV opportunities in Japan .”

Sumitomo Electric Networks is highly regarded for providing high-performing set-top boxes and broadband solutions and is currently the largest supplier of set-top boxes to NTT Group in Japan .

“Espial’s Evo architecture is open and modular, which helps us seamlessly integrate this functionality into our set-top box and reduce our time to market,” said Hiroaki Nishimoto, GM, Content Delivery Networks, Sumitomo Electric Networks Inc. “Espial has been a strong partner for us and we will continue to work closely with Espial to focus on next generation IPTV requirements in Japan .”

About Espial (jp.espial.com and www.espial.com)

Espial provides IPTV middleware and applications that enable superior quality of experience, fast application performance, carrier-grade scalability, and open extensibility, all at a lower total cost of ownership. Espial’s Evo® IPTV Service Platform, which can be purchased as modular components or as part of a pre-integrated client-server solution, includes Evo Client, Evo Server, Evo Browser, Evo BML Browser, Evo Future-Proof Framework™ (FPF), Evo SkinTones™ and applications such as Electronic Program Guide, Video on Demand, Digital Video Recorder, Content Portal, Games, and Triple Play.

About Sumitomo Electric Networks, Inc. (www.sei-networks.com)

Sumitomo Electric Networks, Inc. is a leading supplier of broadband access equipment, and its major product lines include ADSL, VDSL, GE-PON (Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network) VoIP (Voice Over IP), BBR (BroadBand Router), PLC (Power Line Communication) and CDN (Content Delivery Networks) to cover a variety of broadband access services and applications.

Espial Media Contact:
Meredith Dundas
mdundas@espial.com
+1-613-230-4770 x1142