Coding Technologies to Collaborate with Telefonica Moviles Espana to Push Mobile Music Services; Integrative Cooperation Bridges the Gap between Technical and Business Interests in Mobile Entertainment Services

Business Wire, Feb 13, 2006

BARCELONA, Spain -- Coding Technologies, the leading provider of audio compression technology with a strong expertise in media entertainment services across platforms, and Telefonica Moviles Espana, the largest mobile operator in Spain, are actively studying the possibilities to strengthen their profile in mobile music services.

Telefonica Moviles aims to switch to an even higher gear in offering their subscribers in Spain the best quality of music services and user experience. Music download and streaming are expected to be among the leading multimedia applications and number one revenue generators in 3G networks addressing the critically important customers aged between 14 and 39 years.

In order to ensure maximum user experience and quality, Telefonica Moviles Espana has initiated talks with Coding Technologies, the key inventor of the 3GPP/3GPP2 standards of aacPlus v1 and aacPlus v2. These international music-encoding standards have proven to offer the highest quality for all types of music and audio/video services in independent tests, and have therefore been added onto the requirement list for handsets by numerous network operators in Europe, Asia and Americas.

Coding Technologies has positioned itself as a link between the technical issues of encoding standards and the business interests of content creators, service providers, music brands/labels and network operators, defining its role more as an active mediator between these parties to enable compelling convergent solutions.

"We provide the ground floor for all the digital distributers, content aggregators and software/middleware developers; aacPlus can be used in any music service scenario, be it ringtone, download, streaming or music videos. Its wide adoption among mobile terminals and operators ensures maximum reach of any such services," says Johannes Vizethum, Director Mobile Music Partnerships, Coding Technologies.

Coding Technologies

Coding Technologies provides the best audio compression for mobile, broadcasting, and Internet. SBR(TM) (Spectral Band Replication) from Coding Technologies is a backward and forward compatible method to enhance the efficiency of any audio codec; putting the "PRO" in mp3PRO and the "Plus" in aacPlus. Parametric Stereo from Coding Technologies and Philips again significantly increases the efficiency of audio codecs for stereo signals at low bit rates. Products from Coding Technologies are fundamental enablers of open standards such as 3GPP/3GPP2, DVB, MPEG, Digital Radio Mondiale, HD Radio, and the DVD Forum.

Coding Technologies is a privately held company with offices in Sweden, Germany, and Silicon Valley. Founded in 1997 in Stockholm, the company later merged with a spin-off of the renowned Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, the inventor of MP3. Coding Technologies' customers include America Online, EMP, iBiquity Digital, KDDI, mmO2, Nokia, Orange, RealNetworks, SK Telecom, Sprint, T-Mobile, Thomson, Texas Instruments, Vodafone, and XM Satellite Radio.

For more information, visit www.codingtechnologies.com.

Telefonica Moviles Espana

Telefonica Moviles Espana (www.empresa.movistar.es), the operator of Telefonica Moviles Group in the Spanish market, has 19.8 million customers -at end of September 2005- and a full range of services and applications portfolio that uses the latest mobile technologies, including UMTS.

Telefonica Moviles is one of the world's premier mobile carriers and the leader in the Spanish and Portugues-speaking markets, with operations in 15 countries and more than 89 million customers worldwide (at the end of September 2005). Telefonica Moviles shares are quoted on the Spanish markets and New York Stock exchange, under the ticker symbol TEM. Movistar is the commercial brand for all the companies of the Telefonica Moviles Group around the world, except in Morocco and Brazil.