Solaris Mobile Ready to Launch at the Mobile World Congress

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

Showcasing European Mobile Video Broadcasting at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

DUBLIN, Ireland — Solaris Mobile, the Leading Provider of satellite-based next generation networks for mobile services, is ready to launch live mobile television broadcasting demonstrations at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (16th – 19th February 2009). The European pioneer company, located in Ireland and its international technology partners, will provide mobile TV solutions based on the DVB-SH (hybrid satellite/terrestrial standard) by moving vehicles on two different demonstration platforms and on its Booth AV05a to next generation handsets and multimedia players.

The In-car Infotainment services will be demonstrated within a fleet of 5 Mercedes E Class Series cars provided by the partner Europcar. Each car is equipped with the same set-up, including two embedded screens for the rear seats and one embedded screen in the dashboard. While travelling around Barcelona, passengers will have the chance to enjoy, without any interruptions, a selection of live premium TV-channels, such as Euronews and Eurosport. Abertis Telecom, the leading provider of broadcast and telecommunications infrastructure in Spain, has joined with Solaris Mobile to provide seamless coverage of the TV Broadcast Channels to the City of Barcelona and its surrounding areas from its telecom towers. These towers are equipped with the Unique Broadband Systems Ltd terrestrial repeaters.

At the Mobile World Congress, visitors will be able to access the broadcast and infotainment service at the Solaris Mobile stand. The broadcasts will be demonstrated in partnership with Alcatel-Lucent in the car, using Quantum receivers and Calearo antennas and also on handsets and portable multimedia players, provided by Sagem Wireless and Archos. This will perfectly display the future of mobile broadcasting for Europe.

As the first provider in Europe, Solaris Mobile will soon be able to offer a completely new and powerful network for Mobile TV, In-car Entertainment & Information and other communication services by operating in the new dedicated spectrum S-band; which is located near the UMTS frequencies and exclusively reserved for mobile satellite services. The launch of the first S-band payload on board the Eutelsat satellite W2A is scheduled for March 2009. With this S-band payload using the DVB-SH hybrid satellite/terrestrial standard Solaris Mobile can provide a unique, powerful network offering seamless coverage across Europe. By using additional terrestrial base stations, the system reaches into tunnels, urban landscapes and also indoor locations. It can operate on a one-to-one (unicast) and one-to-many (multicast) basis and can be simply integrated into handhelds, mobile and automotive TV screens or video players.

Content providers will be able to deliver broadcast-quality live TV, linear and on-demand content to location-based services, for example, video or radio channels, to mobile phones, vehicles, iPods, portable DVD players, game consoles and other handsets. By introducing this brand new infrastructure and technology for mobile solutions, Solaris Mobile will be a cost-effective, flexible and unrivalled catalyst for new services, helping to reshape the mobile landscape for all of Europe.

Together with key industrial partners and media players, Solaris Mobile is actively establishing a harmonized ecosystem to optimize its next generation network. The Solaris Mobile partner list includes leading companies such as, Alcatel-Lucent, Abertis Telecom, Archos, Audemat, Calearo, DiBcom, Europcar, Quantum, Sagem Wireless, Team Cast, UDcast, Thomson, UBS, Expway and Nagravision.