Belgacom, Powered by Siemens Technology, Now Delivering IPTV to the Home

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Powered from end-to-end by the Siemens® SURPASS® Home Entertainment solution, Belgacom is now delivering commercially available Internet protocol television (IPTV) to its customers as part of its asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) offering, announced the Siemens Communications Group.

Siemens has provided Belgacom — the leading telecommunications company in Belgium — with IPTV gear and software, including set-top boxes that convert digital signals for television viewing. Siemens is working with service providers throughout the world to make real-time home entertainment a reality in the fast-growing IPTV market.

Multimedia Research Group, Inc., projects that IPTV will grow globally from 1.9 million subscribers in 2004 to 25.3 million subscribers in 2008. MRG's report also forecasts that IPTV subscriber revenue will grow from $635 million in 2005 to $7.2 billion in 2008.

Siemens' activity in the IPTV market has been increasingly significant. Earlier this month, Siemens also announced that Dutch operator KPN has chosen Siemens to deploy its portfolio of SURPASS Home Entertainment solutions. KPN plans to introduce IPTV services over its digital subscriber line (DSL) network this year.

In April, Siemens announced the acquisition of Myrio — a leading IPTV middleware software company — to further bolster Siemens' commitment to home entertainment. With Myrio® solutions as part of the SURPASS Home E ntertainment portfolio, Siemens will continue to enhance interactive television features for viewers as well as to provide network operators with state-of-the-art management systems for pricing, packaging and developing applications.

Since November, Belgacom has been successfully offering IPTV to roughly 1,000 of its subscribers on a trial basis. The new BelgacomTV service includes broadcasts of major television stations, pay-per-view offerings and a video-on-demand service that lets a subscriber pick and rent from a menu of DVD-quality films and programs that can be watched at a time that is best for the viewer and also enables the viewer to pause, fast-forward and rewind. Later in the year, Belgacom will offer Internet browsing, video recording and other interactive services. Future plans include direct interaction with a show or program via remote control.

Home entertainment is one of the critical components of the Siemens LifeWorks@Com&trade vision to help people interact, work and be entertained — without technology boundaries — in an always-on world. The company's award-winning LifeWorks@Com vision provides the building blocks for the ongoing development of secure, reliable and high-quality converged communication solutions that drive greater efficiencies and improve user satisfaction.

About Siemens

Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) is one of the largest global electronics and engineering companies with reported worldwide sales of $91.5 billion in fiscal 2004. Founded more than 150 years ago, the company is a leader in the areas Medical, Power, Automation and Control, Transportation, Information and Communications, Lighting, Building Technologies, Water Technologies and Services and Home Appliances. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City, Siemens in the USA has sales of $16.6 billion and employs 70,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Thirteen of Siemens' worldwide businesses are based in the United States. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens AG and its subsidiaries employ 440,000 people in 190 countries. For more information on Siemens in the United States: www.usa.siemens.com www.usa.siemens.com

About Siemens Communications, Inc.

Siemens Communications, Inc., offers its customers a broad portfolio of communication products and services and is a leader in convergent technologies, products and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. The company's portfolio ranges from devices for end users to complex network infrastructures and complementary services for enterprises, carriers and service providers. Siemens Communications, Inc., is headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. For more information, visit http://www.siemens.com/communications

Note: Siemens, SURPASS, Myrio and LifeWorks@Com are trademarks or registered trademarks of Siemens AG, its subsidiaries or affiliates. All other company, brand, product and service names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

This release contains forward-looking statements based on beliefs of Siemens management. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "expect," "intend," "plan," "should," and "project" are used to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual results to be materially different, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance of new products or services and changes in business strategy. Actual results may vary materially from those projected here. Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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