Axel Technologies Closes €2.4 million Investment Round To Boost The Development of Multistandard Mobile TV technology

Multistandard technology will help Mobile TV to become a mass”market solution

TURKU, Finland — Axel Technologies, a global pioneer in multistandard mobile TV, announced today that they have secured a new 2,4 million euro investment for business and product development. Axel Technologies develops mobile TV technology that enables device manufactures to bring mobile TV to all portable devices. Their multistandard”multiplatform technology supports all the key mobile TV standards.

The new investment from Nexit Ventures and Finnish Industry Investment Ltd. will strengthen Axel’s market position as the pioneer in multistandard mobile TV technology that is expected to boost the growth of the mobile TV market. The investment will be used to accelerate Axel’s global sales and marketing, and to intensify R&D efforts focused on anticipated developments in the mobile TV market. According to RNCOS, mobile TV subscribers are forecasted to reach 250 million by 2010. Juniper Research estimates that over 330 million people will have mobile TV enabled phones by 2013.

“Currently mobile TV is only available on the high”end mobile devices, especially in DVB”H. Once we can include mobile TV features in more devices in all price ranges, the mobile TV will become a mass”market solution. Axel provides the multistandard”technology that will enable device manufactures and operators to create global devices and solutions. With the technology bottleneck solved, the content offered by broadcasters and operators will determine the success of the service”, comments Pekka Salonoja, General Partner of Nexit Ventures and the Chairman of Axel Technologies.

Axels’s technology enables an easy”to”use mobile TV interface to be available on other devices beyond mobile phones as mobile TV functionality now easily can be added to mobile internet devices, portable media players, netbooks or car navigators.

“Taiwan, South Korea and China are the markets where mobile TV is happening today. Most of the handset manufacturers are located in the region and the market is growing fast. With the new investment we will strengthen our sales operations and continue the development of multistandard solutions that will enable mobile TV to evolve from fragmented regional markets to a worldwide business,” explains Petri Kalske, CEO of Axel Technologies.

The device manufacturers are now looking for a technology that enables them to manufacture global devices rather than customised solutions for each region or market. With a wider range of different devices available worldwide, operators and broadcasters will have the basis on which to create a successful mobile TV business.

“As the mobile TV market is developing rapidly, the best position is held by companies who have the ability to serve global customers with a scalable and cost efficient business model, and with versatile technology that works on various devices and standards,” comments Heli Kukko, Investment Manager of Finnish Industry Investment Ltd.