 Previous: MiTV ANNOUNCES NEW TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP Kuala Lumpur, 18 December 2006 - MiTV Corporation Sdn Bhd ("MiTV") announced today that it has awarded a contract worth RM115 million for its 3-phase national roll-out to Comintel Sdn Bhd ("Comintel"), a wholly-owned unit of Comintel Corporation Berhad ("Comcorp"), a Second Board listed company. This contract was awarded following MiTV’s decision to adopt an open digital terrestrial broadcast technology based on the standard for digital terrestrial television known as Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DVB-T). MiTV will also migrate from the existing video codec standard to the MPEG4/H.264 advance digital video codec standard. MiTV also said that for greater efficiency, the pay-TV operations will be co-located with MiTV Networks Sdn Bhd’s 3G core network centre in Subang Hi-Tech, Shah Alam, Selangor. The Comintel contract for the new broadcast network and infrastructure will be on a turnkey basis that will cover the Klang Valley and its fringes for phase 1. Comintel is to deliver phase 1 of the project for MiTV to re-launch its services within a 9-month time frame. This will include re-location of the existing broadcast facilities and network operations centre to Subang Hi-Tech, the installation of high-powered transmitters and the development of the new MPEG4/H.264 set-top box. The Comintel contract is part of the estimated RM300 million additional investment planned by MiTV that also includes investment in the new MPEG4/H.264 set-top boxes for sales and distribution. Phases 2 and 3, which will cover the rest of Peninsular Malaysia, are expected to kick off within a year after the launch of phase 1. "Our business model is scaleable and this gives us the flexibility to manage the rollout of our service." says Dato’ Rosman Ridzwan, Chairman of MiTV. MiTV said that the switch of technology platform would enhance its business plans as it expects the decoders or set-top box, as it is commonly called, to be very competitive. The Company also said that the additional system hardware required is not substantial and almost all of its existing equipment can be upgraded and re-deployed for the new broadcast network. To streamline its corporate structure, MiTV has been made the holding company and will hold: 1. 100% of MiTV Networks Sdn Bhd which will operate the 3G services; and 2. 100% of MiTV Broadcast Sdn Bhd which will undertake the pay-TV business. MiTV’s CEO for pay-TV, Ho Meng was up-beat about the project to implement the technology switch. Asked about the switch, he said "We are very excited about the new MPEG4 platform as this is the latest standard for digital TV that has evolved from the highly successful MPEG2 version which has been widely adopted for satellite and terrestrial transmissions." "The MPEG4 standard and the DVB-T standard will allow MiTV to transmit higher quality digital content without compromising on the capacity of our broadcast frequencies. Moreover, the MPEG4 standard can deliver high definition TV ("HDTV") viewing experience to HDTV ready TV sets." added Ho Meng. Comintel’s Managing Director, Lim Keng Hock was quoted as saying that "Comintel is proud to have been entrusted to deliver Malaysia’s first DVB-T network. Notwithstanding the challenges, we are confident that with our experience and skill sets, Comintel can successfully deliver the project." "We are very focused on the project and will push aggressively to complete the switch over and re-launch the service by the 3rd quarter of 2007." said Dato’ Rosman Ridzwan. -end- About MPEG4 MPEG4 is a standard used primarily to compress audio and video (AV) digital data. Introduced in late 1998, it is a designation for a group of audio and video coding standards and related technology agreed upon by the Moving Picture Expert Group (MPEG). MPEG4 absorbs many of the features of the earlier MPEG-1 and MPEG2 and other related standards. The compression and decompression ("codec") component of MPEG4 is popularly referred to as Part 10 (H.264/AVC). MiTV will adopt the H.264 Advance Video Coding codec standard to optimize bandwidth savings. About MiTV Corporation Sdn Bhd Officially launched on 5 September 2005, MiTV Corporation Sdn Bhd is the second pay-TV operator in Malaysia. MiTV has adopted the European standard for digital terrestrial television broadcast technology known as DVB-T and will migrate to the MPEG4/H.264 advance digital video codec standard. MiTV broadcasts a range of local and overseas TV channels complemented by unique and interactive features available from the set-top box. About Comcorp Comintel Corporation Bhd or better known as Comcorp, was conceived from an entrepreneurial foundation and evolved out of a desire to realise a vision to establish one-stop concept from research, development, manufacturing, commissioning and maintenance, that is technologically proficient and customer focused. Comcorp, was incorporated in Malaysia, first as a private limited company and subsequently, it was converted into a public limited company and is currently listed under the Bursa Malaysia second board. As part of the corporate structure, the activity of Comcorp is that of investment holding consolidating the principal activities of its subsidiaries which ranges from R&D, manufacturing of electronic components, turnkey engineering and system design, system integration and after sale and integrated logistic support services. About Comintel Sdn Bhd Comintel Sdn Bhd, wholly owned subsidiary of Comcorp, was incorporated on 20th October 1984. The company began as a consultant and partner to foreign firms and manufacturers as its core business. With vast experience accumulated in the telecommunication arena, Comintel Sdn Bhd today has expanded horizontally and vertically with real ability to provide total IT and engineering solutions from design, manufacturing, customising, installation, training and maintenance to meet myriad of complexity of needs of users. The philosophy of "WE CARE TO DARE" underscores their commitment to strive seeking total and innovative solutions to meet the challenges of tomorrow in the cyber world. Comintel Sdn Bhd from embryonic state to maturity, is continuously developing its human resource to acquire as vast knowledge as possible in the field of telecommunication and IT and with this pool of knowledge, discipline and experience, Comintel Sdn Bhd, is ready and poised to deliver quality assurance and total customer satisfaction. Its strength and ability to differentiate itself in the competitive systems integration sector lies in its ability to combine RF components with IT systems. Comintel Sdn Bhd has a large clientele base primarily in Public Safety, Defense, Other Government Agencies, Telecommunications companies, Media and Broadcasting, Port and Transportation Authorities.
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