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NAGRAVISION HOOKS UP WITH VODAFONE ITALY TO PROTECT NEW MOBILE TV SERVICE

Logo "Nagra Kudelski Group"

Leading service and content protection company secures Vodafone Italy’s mobile TV commercial service over DVB-H

Cheseaux, Switzerland - February 5, 2007 - Nagravision, the world’s leading independent provider of content protection and value-added service technology, has been selected by Vodafone Italy to protect the content rights for its Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld (DVB-H) mobile TV service - Vodafone SKY TV. Nagravision’s access rights system guarantees secure access to mobile TV channels for Vodafone customers wishing to watch TV using their mobiles.

Italy’s second largest mobile operator uses Nagravision’s Nagra Mobile TV conditional access solution to protect access to nine TV channels - including Fox 1, Sky Sports and the Disney Channel as well as premium TV services like Serie A football. The service is available on LG KU950 handsets.

Integrated in Vodafone SIMs, Nagravision technology manages user access rights not only to protect but also maximise Vodafone’s mobile TV revenues in delivering premium and value-added mobile content. The solution allows Vodafone to deliver a wide range of business models to increase revenues, from pay-per-subscription to pay-per-view and pay-per-time.

Mobile TV subscriptions worldwide are predicted to increase from 11 million last year to 171 million subscriptions by 2010 – and Italian consumers have been early adopters of mobile TV services over DVB-H since last summer when shows began broadcasting.

Carlo Stramaglia, Head of Nagravision Italy, says: “Vodafone is a reference in mobile telephony technology and our involvement in their Italian mobile TV projects is a recognition of our expertise in the sector. Last year we were the first in the world to provide and deploy a SIM-based DVB-H conditional access solution in commercial DVB-H operations and this agreement strengthens our leadership in the market.”

Notes for editors
DVB-H is a standard specified by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) specifically for the broadcasting of TV content and data to handheld devices, such as mobile phones. Unlike 3G technology, DVB-H does not require point-to-point access to the network and offers broadcast-quality transmission for reception on low-powered devices as well as an ideal one-click-access Mobile TV user experience. Nagravision technology secures the access to the encrypted broadcast TV signals, offering a palette of pay business models to increase Mobile TV revenues.

Nagra Mobile TV offers protection on broadcast DVB-H, MediaFLO and DMB networks. The DVB-H mobile TV service is based on the Open Security Framework standard, using DVB Simulcrypt compliant interface to insure interoperability. The solution allows a variety of business models - from subscription TV and pay-per-view to offline business models - which do not require handset-server interaction to acquire content rights.

Offline business models are ideal for pay-per-time and mass-audience impulsive pay-per-view events, such a football game pay-per-view. They allow millions of users to acquire their access rights within seconds without overloading the mobile network and security servers, for the best user experience.

About the Kudelski Group/Nagravision
The Kudelski Group (SWX: KUD.VX), is the world leader in digital security. Its technologies are used in a wide range of applications requiring access control and rights management, whether for securing transfer of information (digital television, broadband Internet, video-on-demand, interactive applications, etc.) or to control and manage access of people or vehicles to sites and events. The Kudelski Group is headquartered in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland. For more information, please visit www.nagra.com.

Nagravision (www.nagravision.com), a Kudelski Group company, is the world's leading independent supplier of open conditional access systems, DRM and integrated on-demand solutions for content providers and digital TV operators over broadcast, broadband and mobile platforms. Its technologies are currently being used by more than 100 leading Pay-TV operators worldwide securing content delivered to over 66 million active smart cards and devices.

Contacts:
Anne-Sophie Schlachter
Kudelski Group Corporate Communications Assistant
Tel. +41 21 732 07 38
mail : [email protected]

Ivan Schnider
Nagravision Marketing & Communications Manager
Tel. +41 21 732 09 40
mail : [email protected]