Abilis Systems Standardizes On ARC For Mobile DTV Applications

SAN JOSE, Calif., and ST. ALBANS, England, October 9, 2008 – – ARC International (LSE: ARK), a leading provider of consumer intellectual property (IP) to OEM and semiconductor companies, today announced that Abilis Systems, a Kudelski Group company, has standardized its mobile DTV product development on ARC® technology.  Accordingly, Abilis has taken a new license for ARC solutions that will help extend its range of mobile digital TV chips.

This new license will enable Abilis to leverage all the expertise and software that they have already developed to create next generation products.  Existing ARC-Based™ chips from Abilis include single chip “antenna-to-digital” TV receiver solutions aimed at the fast growing Digital TV market that is estimated to reach 140 million units by 2011.  Its most recent, ARC-Based product, the AS-101, was launched at this year’s Mobile World Congress as the world’s smallest digital mobile TV receiver for DVB-H/T. 

Yves Mathys, CEO of Abilis Systems, commented, “ARC’s technology has enabled Abilis to establish itself as one of the market leaders in the fast-growing Mobile TV market.  With this new agreement, we can build new solutions that deliver high quality video content to consumers, anywhere, any time, on any mobile device.  Furthermore, ARC’s technology enables us the flexibility to accommodate the wide range of requirements in support of our Digital TV product roadmap.”

“ARC’s industry leading solutions are increasingly being recognized as the solution of choice for multimedia applications, as they enable customers to deliver compelling experiences to consumers.” said Carl Schlachte, president and CEO of ARC International. “In the case of Abilis, our technology has enabled them to create flexible chip solutions for receiving digital TV broadcasts on portable electronics devices, from smart mobile handsets to media players.”

About Abilis Systems’ ARC-Based™ Designs
Abilis Systems has developed the key technologies and system architecture for integrating a single-chip, low cost and easy-to-use solution that enables ‘digital TV on a chip’.  Abilis invented a low power software defined radio technology as a key element of ensuring quality of service.  In addition, the flexibility of this programmable technology allows adaptive data processing to guarantee the best performances in all reception conditions.  The integration of an innovative multi-band RF tuner provides worldwide coverage with superior sensitivity, power efficiency and lower system cost.

About Abilis Systems

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Abilis is a member of the Kudelski Group, a world leader in the digital Pay-TV industry. This financial, commercial and technical partnership strengthens the company’s ability to offer to the market a unique solution for the most demanding customers.  The company designs, markets and delivers adaptive wireless communication chips for mobile consumer terminals.  The company supplies mobile terminal manufacturers with leading edge, low cost chips, for the reception of digital TV broadcast and is actively developing next generation solutions that will also support broadband data access.  Further information can be found at www.abilis.com

About ARC International plc

ARC International is a world leading provider of consumer IP to OEM and semiconductor companies globally.  ARC’s award-winning, vertically integrated audio and video solutions enable high quality multimedia content to be captured, shared, and played on a wide range of electronics devices.  ARC’s 140+ customers collectively ship hundreds of millions of ARC-Based™ chips annually in products such as Mobile TVs, Portable Media Players, WiFi-/WiMAX-enabled computers, flash storage, digital cameras, network appliances, and medical and government systems.
ARC International maintains a worldwide presence with corporate and research and development offices in San Jose and Lake Tahoe, Calif., St. Albans, England, and St. Petersburg, Russia.  For more information visit www.ARC.com.  ARC International is listed on the London Stock Exchange as ARC International plc (LSE: ARK).