ANT Teams Up With Alcatel To Provide Set-Top-Box Client For Broadband Services
License agreement to speed up set-top porting through a pre-integrated solution
Cambridge, UK, 15 April 2004
ANT Limited announced today that Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) has licensed the ANT Fresco® browser for integration into the Alcatel 5950 Open Media Platform (OMP), the customer-facing component of the Open Media Suite. This will enable Alcatel to offer a pre-integrated set-top-box (STB) client to the TV-over-IP market. With ANT Fresco, Alcatel's middleware platform will give STB providers access to a ready-integrated, proven and compact solution that will help them to get to market quicker and with lower development costs. ANT Limited is the partner of choice to consumer electronics manufacturers, STB providers and silicon designers worldwide, for TV-interface software, content-rendering solutions, and embedded browser technologies.
Alcatel's 5950 Open Media Platform is designed to enable telecommunication service providers to offer compelling broadband services to residential-TV users. A major part of Alcatel's strategy is to address the mass market in order to allow providers to reach critical mass rapidly. The pre-integrated solution is very economical in its use of resources, offering a quick and low-cost route for the development of STBs.
"ANT's experience in supplying browsers to the TV market provides the kind of synergy Alcatel requires to further expand its industry-leading middleware solution for IP Video and Triple Play," said Alan Mottram, President of Alcatel's fixed solutions activities.
"ANT is delighted that our long-standing relationship with Alcatel continues to go from strength to strength," said Stephen Reeder, Executive Director of Sales and Marketing for ANT. "The quality and performance of their OMP middleware is proving very popular with the world's leading IPTV providers, and our browser technology is a perfect complement, giving service operators complete control over the presentation and user interface control elements of their service."
ANT Fresco is an embedded browser specifically developed for the user interface and content- rendering requirements of set-top-boxes, TVs, personal video recorders (PVRs) and other consumer electronics devices. The Alcatel 5950 Open Media Platform is a middleware platform that enables broadband service providers to create, deliver and manage a full range of multimedia entertainment services.
About ANT Software Limited
ANT plc (www.antplc.com) is a leading provider of digital TV client and consumer electronic software solutions. ANT's unique client solutions allow robust and consistent delivery of digital-media, user interfaces, interactive services and applications to the TV and portable media devices. ANT enables service providers to efficiently create and deploy successful solutions to the market that deliver high value and clear differentiation.
ANT's products are pre-integrated with many industry-leading solutions and are based upon open standards, enabling low-risk, cost-effective roll-out of services, while ensuring flexible client hardware choice with efficient bill of materials. ANT software has been extensively deployed by customers throughout the world including Chunghwa Telecom, Foxconn, France Telecom, Humax, LG/Nortel, Philips, Sagem, Samsung, SaskTel, Telecom Italia and Thomson.
ANT plc's shares are listed on AIM, a London Stock Exchange regulated market, under the ticker ANTP (Reuters: ANTP.L, Bloomberg: ANTP.LN).
Trademarks
ANT, the ANT logo, Galio, Fresco and PurePlay are all trademarks or registered trademarks of ANT Software Limited. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
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