Bharti Airtel Launches Airtel's Direct-to-Home Digital Television Service Based on NDS End-to-End Solution

NEW DELHI, India — NDS Group plc (NASDAQ:NNDS), the leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, today announced that Bharti Airtel, India’s leading integrated telecom services provider, has launched Airtel digital TV based on a complete end-to-end system from technology partner NDS to secure, enable and enhance its Direct-to-Home (DTH) service.

Bharti Airtel, in collaboration with NDS, has launched its DTH service with VideoGuard® conditional access (CA), MediaHighway® middleware and customised multi-lingual Electronic Programme Guide (EPG). NDS’ market-leading CA and DRM technology protects over 95.4 million digital devices around the world and secures service revenues of over $40 billion worldwide. Middleware from NDS has been deployed in over 98.7 million devices.

NDS solutions enable Bharti Airtel to offer its subscribers advanced services to maximise viewer choice. Additionally they provide the flexibility to allow Bharti Airtel to introduce future enhancements such as further interactive applications and NDS’ world leading digital video recorder (DVR) technology. NDS continues its commitment to deliver and support state-of-the-art technology and innovative solutions for Bharti Airtel that will enable it to secure content and raise the standards of service available to pay-TV subscribers in India.

Recently voted India’s most innovative company and ranked amongst the best performing companies in the world, Bharti Airtel is a pioneering force in the telecom sector. With an aggregated 80 million customers, India’s largest mobile operator is recognised for creating unique world-class products for the Indian market.

Announcing this latest development in the company’s DTH strategy, Mr. N. Arjun, Executive Director, Bharti Telemedia said, “Over the years we have delighted millions of customers with our telecom services and now with Airtel digital TV, we plan to deliver a magical in-home entertainment experience to TV viewers. DTH is the future of television in India and with Airtel digital TV we bring the best combination of latest technology and exciting content. With the support of our technology partner NDS, we look forward to providing superior, state-of-the-art services to our DTH service customers.”

Sue Taylor, Senior VP and General Manager of NDS Asia Pacific, said: “Bharti Airtel’s decision to launch their DTH service with a suite of NDS solutions is a validation of the technology leadership of NDS and recognition of the significant investment in NDS’ capabilities in India over the past eight years. We are honoured to be part of this new frontier in Indian pay-TV and to assist Bharti Airtel in delivering the latest leading edge digital and interactive entertainment services to their subscribers.”

NDS has a global presence, with local sales and support offices in key markets all over the world including Mumbai and New Delhi. In addition, NDS’ R&D facility in Bangalore has been operational for eight years, employs over 1,000 people, and has played a key role in the development of Bharti Airtel’s state-of-the-art NDS digital broadcast solution.