ACCESS and EXPWAY Team Up to Deliver Mobile TV Solution for Mass DVB-H Deployment

TOKYO and PARIS — ACCESS CO., LTD., a global provider of advanced software technologies to the mobile and beyond-PC markets, and EXPWAY, a leading provider of electronic service guide (ESG) solutions delivered over cellular, broadband and broadcast networks, today announced that the two companies have signed a license agreement enabling ACCESS to integrate its NetFront™ Browser DTV Profile with EXPWAY’s FastESG™ service guide. ACCESS will market NetFront™ Browser DTV Profile DVB-H Edition, the first complete and standard-compliant mobile TV solution for mass digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H) deployments, to a broad range of handset and Internet-enabled appliance manufacturers.

NetFront Browser DTV Profile DVB-H Edition, combining ACCESS’ market-tested NetFront Browser DTV Profile with EXPWAY’s first-to-market FastESG solution for mobile DVB-H and 3G networks, addresses the growing demand for integrated multimedia mobile phones. DVB-H is fast gaining momentum as a global standard for bringing broadcast services to handheld devices.

Available for two major mobile TV broadcast standards (DVB-IPDC and OMA-BCAST), NetFront Browser DTV Profile DVB-H Edition offers unique features to operators as well as end-users. Operators will be able to optimize content distribution over the various transportation networks available to them; end-users, meanwhile, will be able to access content easily, whether through broadcast, unicast or local services. Moreover, thanks to ACCESS’ unique embedded browser approach, users will benefit from a consistent experience across unicast (VOD, streaming) and broadcast audio/video services.

The combined solution also provides a number of advanced features, such as interactivity (voting, betting, advertising and the like) and distribution of packaged multimedia files, such as ContentCast™, a podcasting solution extended to video.

“ACCESS has an excellent track record in Japan’s advanced mobile market, where mobile TV has gained enormous popularity since its introduction in 2006,” said Toru Arakawa, ACCESS CEO, president and co-founder. “We are ready to introduce our mobile TV browser to the world. By integrating EXPWAY’s FastESG with our NetFront Browser DTV Profile, we can bring to market a solution that adds intelligence to the way content is distributed, promoted and searched.”

“EXPWAY, a specialist in metadata management, is focused on remaining the leading provider of multimedia search engines,” said Antoine Weil, EXPWAY CEO. “We are delighted to be working with a partner like ACCESS. With ACCESS’ strong product portfolio and its ability to deploy solutions over a large number of devices, we are ready to accommodate the mass deployment of mobile TV services with a solution offering unmatched quality, simplicity and features.”