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ACCESS Teams with STMicroelectronics to Deliver Advanced Internet Browsing to Global Set-Top Box and Digital Television Market

Combination of ACCESS’ NetFront^™Browser With ST’s OMEGA Family Decoders and STAPI Driver Suite Provides Comprehensive Solution for Advanced high-definition STB decoder and Digital TV applications

TOKYO, Japan– June 29, 2005 – ACCESS Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4813), a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies, announced that they have cooperated with STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), the world leader in set-top box chips, to bring ACCESS’ NetFront^™ browser to ST’s OMEGA family of MPEG 2 and advance H264 VC1 families decoders. The combined solution, which includes ST’s STAPI driver suite, provides IP-capable STB and DTV (Digital Television) manufacturers worldwide with a full Internet browsing solution that speeds time to market while also providing a comprehensive foundation for exciting new Internet-based consumer applications and services including entertainment, e-commerce, information, communications, and more.

The joint ACCESS and ST STB/DTV solution was achieved through a collaborative porting of ACCESS’ Net Front browser on ST’s STAPI driver suite and then further porting onto ST’s STi5517 and STi7020 hardware reference platform. The STAPI drivers are compatible across devices in the OMEGA family, thus ensuring that the reference solution can be easily ported to other devices in ST’s STB product roadmap. Among these are the STi7710 HD MPEG2, a highly integrated single-chip solution that provides very high performance for low cost, high-definition STB and DTV systems, and the STi7100, the world’s first single-chip solution HDTV decoder supporting the latest video compression technologies (H.264/AVC, VC1/Windows Media 9 Series and Dual MPEG-2).

The global STB and DTV market is rapidly expanding. Global shipments of DTV sets will rise to 127.3 million units in 2009, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 41.8 percent from 22.2 million in 2004, iSuppli(*1) predicts. The market for high-definition set-top boxes is expected to reach 12 million units by 2008 according to In-Stat/MDR(*2). The joint ACCESS and ST STB/DTV solution provides manufacturers targeting this expanding market with the technologies they need to build advanced and price-competitive products that will further stimulate the growth of the global STB and DTV market.

ACCESS’NetFront browser is recognized as one of the most advanced and popular browsers in the world, with over 180 million deployments in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. It was the first browser to be deployed for a commercial 3G mobile service (W-CDMA), and it is the choice of leading Internet device manufacturers for applications as diverse as digital television, set-top boxes, automobile telematics, mobile handsets, PDAs, and more. NetFront browser is optimized for resource-restricted environments yet delivers an advanced, full Internet browsing experience with a comprehensive feature-set that includes support for HTML 4.01, OMA Browsing 2.2, WML, and cHTML as well as unique programming languages for digital television services including BML (Broadcast Markup Language).

“Combining ST High Definition system solutions with ACCESS SW technology will provide the home consumer with a very attractive and unique HTML and BML browser experience in an high quality environment,” said Armando Caltabiano, General Manager of the Retail Multimedia and Satellite Division of ST’s Home Entertainment Group.

“The global market for IP-capable digital televisions and digital set-top boxes is experiencing rapid growth and this new generation of devices require advanced browsing functionality to fully leverage their potential,” said Toru Arakawa, president and CEO of ACCESS. “We’re pleased to partner with ST to provide an out of the box solution that delivers advanced full Internet browsing and which lays the foundation for many new and exciting Internet-based services via set-top box and digital television.”

ACCESS will be demonstrating the NetFront browser on the STi5517 and STi7720 hardware reference platform at the Embedded Systems Expo and Conference (ESEC) 2005 Tokyo (June 29–July 1) in the ACCESS booth.

1. : U.S. based research firm
2. : U.S. based research firm

About NetFront Browser
NetFront browser recently surpassed over 180 million deployments globally that include 646 unique devices ranging from mobile phones and PDAs to digital televisions, gaming consoles, and automobile telematics systems from 90 major Internet device manufacturers. NetFront supports a wider range of operating systems than any competing browser including solutions for Palm^® OS, Symbian OS, Linux OS, Microsoft^® Windows^® Mobile/PocketPC and mobile handset environments like BREW^™. NetFront browser technology is used by the world’s leading mobile operators, software providers and electronics manufacturers including Adobe, Alpine, Amoi, AT&T Wireless, Casio, Epson, Hitachi, Hutchinson 3G Group, IBM, KDDI, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Mitsubishi, palmOne, PalmSource, Samsung, SANYO, Sharp, Sony, Telcel Venezuela, TCL, Toshiba, UTStarcom and more.

About ACCESS
ACCESS is a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies to the beyond-PC market. Its NetFfront browser, widely recognized as one of the most advanced Internet browsers in the world, is a cornerstone to the company’s vision of making the ubiquitous Internet a reality. NetFront technologies are delivering full Internet browsing and related services to next-generation mobile devices and consumer electronics ranging from digital TV to automobile telematics. For more information: www.access.co.jp or www.access-us-inc.com.

ACCESS is a registered trademark in Japan. NetFront is a trademark or registered trademark of ACCESS CO., LTD. In Japan and other countries.All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

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