TechnoConcepts Inc., a pioneer and innovator of True Software Radio
TM (TSR) wireless to digital technology, announced today that it has signed a technology transfer and licensing agreement with set-top box design firm Shanghai Jinshilin Technologies Development Company, Ltd. (Jinshilin). As part of the agreement, Jinshilin will license certain Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) technology for set-top boxes (STB's) and transfer purchase orders for approximately 300,000 IPTV STB's to TechnoConcepts' to be formed Chinese subsidiary. This subsidiary will begin to fulfill pending orders for approximately $30 million worth of Jinshilin IPTV set-top boxes by the end of the year. It is expected that all current purchase orders will be filled by the fall of 2006.
As a result of collaborative efforts this past year, TechnoConcepts has licensed from Jinshilin all of its intellectual property for Internet Protocol Network Television (IPTV), Stream Media Protocol Processing, Broadcasting Software for IPTV-STB and IPTV-STB providing On-Line Family Real Time Payment Service. The operations shall be conducted by China Jinshilin Techno, TechnoConcept's Chinese subsidiary which will be based in Shanghai, China. Formation of this subsidiary is pending Chinese Government approval that is expected to be received by August 1, 2005. Under the terms of the agreement, Jinshilin shall receive a licensing royalty equal to 5% of the net revenue that China Jinshilin Techno derives from the sale of IPTV set-top boxes.
TechnoConcepts will integrate certain technologies with Jinshilin's existing IPTV set-top box design and commence commercialization of the IPTV-STB product for delivery of television content via the Internet. IPTV set-top boxes provide for delivery of digital television programming received from the Internet to conventional audio/video inputs to television sets. The Company believes that future generation IPTV set-top boxes in China will support multi-protocol wireless connectivity with television, DVD players and other multi-media appliances.
China's second largest media group, The Shanghai Media Group (SMG), recently became the first television network to receive a license to send programming to home receivers via Internet protocol. SMG has been authorized to deliver to its subscribers SMG's existing twelve television channels plus programming purchased from other stations and video-on-demand content providers. The IPTV set-top box market is rapidly expanding in China, with industry analysts projecting between 60 million to 100 million units to be sold by the end of 2007.
The purchase orders received by Jinshilin are from several large enterprises, including a Fortune 50 software company that is already established in the IPTV market, a large Chinese telecom company, a leading bank, a Chinese and European joint venture company and a Chinese media conglomerate. Jinshilin's IPTV-STB has been selected by these customers after testing the prototypes and evaluating numerous alternatives. A recent technical evaluation by Alcatel Network Support System Company, Inc. (Alcatel) of products for this market determined that Jinshilin's IPTV-STB is fully compliant with existing specifications for both the Chinese and European market. Jinshilin's IPTV-STB has been added to the global procurement system of Alcatel Group for availability in the European IPTV market, where Alcatel Group has a 60% share of the IPTV market. TechnoConcepts and Jinshilin have been collaborating over the past year.
Commenting on the announcement, Zuoping Zhang, President of Jinshilin, stated, "We at Jinshlin would like to thank TechnoConcepts for the mutual trust and successful cooperation between our companies established over the past year. Fulfilling our initial purchase orders represents the first of many milestones we expect to achieve together in the Chinese and global IPTV STB market. We believe TechnoConcepts will improve our technologies and product variety, which will benefit our companies. We believe that the market opportunity for TechnoConcepts' new China subsidiary is enormous. The response that we have already received from world leading companies has been overwhelmingly positive. We expect the China Jinshilin Techno IPTV STB to gain a significant market share in China. Joining a technology innovator like TechnoConcepts provides an excellent opportunity to advance Jinshilin's design and technology into commercial success."
Antonio Turgeon, Chairman of TechnoConcepts, Inc., stated, "The agreement with Jinshilin immediately provides TechnoConcepts with a sizeable revenue opportunity in IPTV set-top boxes - a market that is forecasted to experience extraordinary growth over the coming years. Future generation set-top boxes in China will support multi-protocol wireless connectivity with television, DVD players and other multi-media appliances. We believe Techno's proprietary True Software Radio(TM) (TSR) integrated into Jinshilin's IPTV-STB will result in a product offering with truly revolutionary capabilities. As standards evolve and STB modifications are required, the Jinshilin IPTV STB will only require software modifications to accommodate the changes rather than hardware revisions as was the case in Beta Max versus VHS standards. Moreover, the formation of a TechnoConcepts operating subsidiary in China gives us the ability to capitalize on substantial business in the Far East. We very much look forward to furthering our relationship with Zuoping Zhang and the entire Jinshilin team."