News/Corporate/

HwaCom partnership drives openness and flexibility in IPTV

Sep 10, 2010

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has entered a strategic partnership with Taiwanese set-top box (STB) vendor HwaCom System Inc. to integrate the company’s open standards based STBs into the Ericsson IPTV system. The move means that Ericsson is now able to offer pre-integrated set-top boxes from five different vendors creating benefits for customers in terms of cost efficiency and flexibility when implementing the Ericsson IPTV solution.

The global agreement will further broaden the Ericsson IPTV offering as well as re-enforce its market leadership position in Asia. According to research group MRG, Ericsson is the leading video head end provider to IPTV operators in Asia. Hwacom System Inc. is a major IP STB provider in Asia, and its customers include Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan.

“We are committed to providing operators around the world with flexible and open solutions that enable innovative service development and foster creative marketing options in the IPTV arena. This partnership with HwaCom is an important move that further strengthens our leading position in IPTV,” said Ove Anebygd, Head of IPTV & Connected Home, Solution Area TV, Ericsson.

Ericsson and Hwacom are committed to supporting an open IPTV environment and driving the mass market for IPTV services. The companies have collaborated for the past two years as members of the Open IPTV Forum and most recently worked together to demonstrate an open IPTV integrated ecosystem for the Singaporean institution, IDA.

“Looking at the IPTV development in the next few years, HwaCom sees a trend towards an open and standardized service delivery chain. We believe the innovation and easy access derived from such an open platform will help to better provide IPTV user’s true needs. By partnering with Ericsson, the leading IPTV solution provider, we can effectively and timely enable HwaCom’s belief into reality. Meanwhile, the synergy demonstrated in addressing customer’s expectation also proves a win-win-win cooperation in developing IPTV markets,“ said Gary Chen, the Chairman and CEO of HwaCom System Inc.

Notes to editors:

Press release: Ericsson successfully demonstrates open standards for standards-based common featured set-top box. www.ericsson.com/news/100811_open_standards_20100811133830

Our multimedia content is available at the broadcast room: www.ericsson.com/broadcast_room

Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services. The company’s portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.

Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the “prime driver in an all-communicating world” through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 80,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 206.5 billion (USD 27.1 billion) in 2009. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX NASDAQ, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.

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