Thomson's Turnkey Solution Brings Mobile TV to the Baltics


DVB-H trial by Latvian Mobile Telephone uses comprehensive Thomson Management and Encoding System

Paris (France) Barcelona (Spain) - 5 February 2008 - Latvian Mobile Telephone (LMT) has established a mobile television trial, the first of its kind in the Baltics, based on an end to end solution from Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS). The comprehensive system from Thomson includes a complete video head end and the SmartVision service management platform to give LMT a single point of contact for complete control over its new offering, as well as signal encoding and processing hardware.

LMT is working in partnership with LVRTC, Latvia State Radio and Television Centre, which is providing the DVB-H transmission network. The trial, which went on air in November 2007 and is expected to continue through 2008, offers four live television channels, plus pay per view and interactive services.

The complete Thomson headend includes ViBE Mobile TV encoders to compress the incoming video streams and Opal DVB-H encapsulators to encapsulate them into a single transport stream. Thomson's Jade ESG generator is being used to create an electronic service guide which gives the end consumer an easy to use interface for browsing programme content, updated in real time. The SmartVision service management platform allows LMT to add new services and manage the interactivity through a simple portal. The contract was negotiated by Hannu Pro, Thomson's distributor in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, that will be also providing continuing support and maintenance services to LMT.

"As the biggest mobile network operator in Latvia, we were keen to move into mobile television which we see as a major benefit for our subscribers," said Mr Juris Binde, President of LMT. "Thomson demonstrated to us that they could deliver a complete and fully integrated solution which could be implemented quickly, making us to start trials of the first mobile television service in the Baltic region."

"The market for new mobile phones remains steady at an amazing billion units a year, which demonstrates that subscribers are calling for new and expanded services, with mobile television at the top of everyone's list," said Patrick Montliaud, General Manager of Thomson's Network and Integration Solutions business. "At Thomson we are unique in offering a complete solution that is pre-integrated for seamless operation, which can be implemented very quickly to meet the needs of any broadcaster or MNO. That is why so many broadcasters, on six continents, have turned to Thomson to get mobile television up and running."

Visit demonstrations of Thomson's Mobile TV solutions during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from 11-14 February in Hall 2, Stand 2B17. For more information visit: www.thomson.net/mwc08

About Thomson - World leader in digital video technologies

Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) provides technology, services, and systems to the Media, Entertainment & Communications players - content creators, content distributors and broadcasters - and supports them in order to help them to improve their commercial offers and their performance in a rapidly changing technology environment.

For more information: www.thomson.net.

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