In-Stat and Telegent Systems Research Reveals Mass Market for Mobile TV Has Finally Arrived

SUNNYVALE, California -

- Free-to-air mobile TV technology spurs rapid adoption worldwide

Telegent Systems, the company that makes television mobile, today provided further commentary on the recently published In-Stat report that estimates a worldwide user base of 54 million ‘free-to-air’ analog mobile TV consumers in 2009, signaling the long-awaited arrival of mobile TV in the global mass market. Telegent believes the free-to-air mobile TV model, which has proven to be extremely popular with consumers in analog markets, can be successfully applied in both analog and digital TV markets particularly as handset models that address regional free-to-air digital terrestrial TV standards become available.

The mobile TV industry has experimented with a number of different business models in recent years; however, analog free-to-air is the first model to realize substantial and rapid global traction, extending the mobile TV success already realized in Japan and Korea to the global marketplace. In the space of just two years, free-to-air analog mobile TV has accelerated consumer adoption of mobile TV, transforming it into a mass market proposition. The analyst firm Forward Concepts estimates that free-to-air analog mobile TV handsets will account for more than half of all broadcast TV handsets shipped in 2009, and In-Stat expects this market segment to reach 300 million users by 2013. Telegent’s free-to-air mobile TV technology has played a significant role in driving this rapid consumer adoption globally.

“Despite the switchover from analog to digital in the U.S. and Europe, 85 percent of the world’s population is still dependent on analog TV signals,” said Weijie Yun, president and CEO of Telegent Systems. “The success of free-to-air mobile TV technology in developing markets where the analog broadcast TV is prevalent demonstrates the potential for the free-to-air mobile TV business model on a global basis, including markets where analog to digital broadcast TV conversions have already occurred.”

Telegent’s single-chip mobile TV solutions provide operators and manufacturers with a cost-effective approach to mobile TV delivery. The free-to-air mobile TV feature takes advantage of the existing broadcast TV ecosystem, removing the need for capital investment from operators or broadcasters in infrastructure, spectrum or content. The feature can be implemented in a wide variety of handsets and price points. As a result, the free-to-air mobile TV model enables broad availability to consumers in all markets, and is not limited to the high-end phone segment.

According to Frank Dickson, vice president of research at In-Stat, analog mobile TV has two very fundamental and compelling advantages - cost and availability. “The infrastructure is already in place, there are no new standards that need to be enacted and the service is free to consumers - a very powerful combination.”

Visit www.instat.com/promos/09/mobiletv.asp to download the free In-Stat white paper.

About Telegent Systems

Telegent Systems is a leading fabless CMOS semiconductor company providing high performance, single-chip solutions enabling free-to-air and subscription mobile TV in mobile handsets, laptops and netbooks, and other portable devices. Telegent’s solutions make television mobile, delivering both analog and digital broadcast reception with unparalleled sensitivity and picture quality in mobile and portable environments, ultra-low power consumption and the highest integration simplifying device design and manufacture. For more information, visit www.telegent.com.

Source: Telegent Systems

Diana Jovin, VP Corporate Marketing of Telegent Systems, +1-408-990-7092, djovin at telegent.com