Telecom Italia Selects Teknema Set-Top Box for Launching Internet TV Service in Italy

Business Wire, Feb 22, 1999

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 1999--Telecom Italia (NYSE:TI), the world's fifth largest service provider, said it has selected Teknema Internet TV Set-Top Box for launching an innovative way to access the Internet from home.

Marketed with the name PlayWEB, and sold in more than 1,700 Insip stores throughout Italy since December 1998, the initiative marks a major milestone in the deployment of an easy-to-use, affordable device to access the Internet.

The Teknema Set-Top Box allows users to access the Web and to exchange E-mail using a standard television set and a telephone line. Based on established standards and not requiring a proprietary infrastructure, the unique Teknema hardware and software provides a low-cost solution with excellent display quality for text and graphics on TV.

An infrared remote control and keyboard is used to interact with the set-top box. The unit is equipped with a smart card reader and secure software that allow consumers to make purchases and perform financial transactions safely on-line.

"We are delighted to have been selected by Telecom Italia for the supply of Internet TV Set-Top Boxes," stated Marco Graziano, President and CEO of Teknema. "Internet access on platforms other than PCs is becoming a reality. In Italy and worldwide Teknema is consolidating its leading position in this emerging market."

The Teknema Internet TV Set-Top Box hardware design includes an ARM 32-bit RISC multimedia processor designed by ARM Ltd. (Nasdaq:ARMHY) and manufactured by Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq:CRUS), built-in network interface, flicker-free TV interface, a standard printer port, smartcard reader, and a wireless remote control and keyboard.

Teknema sells its Set-Top Box to OEM customers worldwide. Distribution in Italy for Telecom Italia is through Aethra Telecomunicazioni, an Italian leading company in videconferencing and telecommunication products.

For information on Teknema's products and programs, visit the company's Web site at www.teknema.com, call 1-650-855-0500 or send email to sales@teknema.com.