Choose your language

UTStarcom and Aksh to Power BSNL's New iControl IPTV Service in 20 Cities Across India

ALAMEDA, Calif., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UTStarcom, Inc.
(Nasdaq: UTSI) today announced a contract with Aksh Optifibre, Ltd.
(BOM: 532351) to deploy UTStarcom's end-to-end RollingStream(R) Internet
Protocol TV (IPTV) solution in 20 cities on Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Ltd.
(BSNL)'s ADSL 2+ network, a UTStarcom-built multiplay infrastructure that
currently supports more than 75 percent of the active wirelines in India.

UTStarcom and Aksh to Power BSNL's New iControl IPTV Service in 20 Cities Across India
UTStarcom and Aksh to Power BSNL's New iControl IPTV Service in 20 Cities Across India

UTStarcom RollingStream(R) IPTV Solution Set to Deploy on the Largest Broadband and Wireline Network in the Country

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051013/SFTH063LOGO)

The IPTV offering which will be made available to more than 250,000 BSNL
broadband subscribers in 20 cities throughout India with Aksh's iControl
service, gives both large cities and small towns the opportunity to experience
interactive entertainment such as time-shifting, video-on-demand (VOD),
interactive gaming, live television voting and distance learning programs.

'Demand for IPTV in India is increasing exponentially and UTStarcom is
supplying Aksh with the solutions and infrastructure it needs to continue that
momentum,' said Dr.
Kailash S. Choudhari, chairman and managing director at
Aksh Optifibre, Ltd. 'UTStarcom's understanding of the market and ability to
produce cutting-edge technology allows Aksh to easily advance its IPTV
strategy in India and improve the viewing experience for our customers, while
also meeting internal operational goals.'

BSNL currently delivers the most comprehensive portfolio of communications
services and maintains the greatest reach of all broadband and wireline
operators in India; as a result, both Aksh and UTStarcom's IPTV footprint
within India will increase significantly in terms of scope of deployments and
total commercially-deployed customer base upon completion of this BSNL IPTV
network. Aksh, one of India's leading optical fibre cable manufacturers and
one of the first companies in India to set up its own fibre optic
manufacturing units, is also expected to become the largest provider of IPTV
support services in India upon completion of this IPTV system. Aksh is the
leader in IPTV service with the largest subscriber base in India.

UTStarcom has long-standing relationships with both Aksh and BSNL for
IPTV, broadband and NGN-related deployments. Last month, UTStarcom and Aksh
announced their collaboration to deliver high-quality IPTV services to
subscribers of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) in Mumbai, India,
extending the reach of the operator's service area following its initial
commercial IPTV deployment in Delhi. In 2007, UTStarcom partnered with BSNL to
supply 1.3 million lines of its Metro Ethernet Forum-certified NetRing(TM)
10000i STM-64 optical transport solution and iAN-8000 multiservice access node
(MSAN) solution to build and launch new multiplay broadband Internet services.

'India is moving toward becoming a top IPTV market and companies such as
Aksh and BSNL are making inroads to turn those aspirations into reality,' said

Vijay Yadav, vice president and managing director, South Asia operations,
UTStarcom. 'RollingStream's unique end-to-end architecture allows it to be
both flexible and long-reaching in scope to support deployments in a small
populated town or an entire country or region. Through BSNL's network and
UTStarcom technology, Aksh will build an iControl IPTV base that will change
the way most of India utilizes television in their daily lives.'

UTStarcom's RollingStream(R) end-to-end IPTV system currently supports
more than 956,000 live IPTV subscribers globally and maintains a current total
system capacity of more than 2.5 million subscribers as a result of recent
successful deployments in China with
China Netcom and China Telecom, in India
with Bharti Airtel, BSNL/Aksh, MTNL/Aksh and United Telecoms Limited, in Sri
Lanka
with SLT, in Japan with Softbank, in Latin America with Brasil Telecom
and in Taiwan with Markwell.

About Aksh Optifibre, Ltd.

New Delhi based Aksh Optifibre, Ltd. is a leading optical fibre cable
manufacturer in India. The company produces a variety of cables, including
singlemode and multimode cables; duct cables; armored and aerial cables;
indoor and outdoor cables; and ribbon fiber optic cables. Aksh was one of the
first companies in India to set up its own fiber optic manufacturing units.
Aksh exports 25 percent of the total turnover to 25 countries, including
Japan. The company's main product is a Fiber-to-the-Home solution. Aksh is the
first company to provide IPTV Services in India with the largest subscriber
base. To learn more about the iControl IPTV service, log on to
http://www.icontrol.in.

About Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL)

BSNL, a Government of India owned corporation, is the incumbent and
largest telecommunications services provider in India with a pan-India
footprint but for Delhi and Mumbai. It has a network of over 60 million
subscribers covering 5000 towns with over 35 million fixed line telephone
connections. The corporation is an integrated telecommunications service
provider with presence in the fixed line, cellular mobile, long distance and
data segments with over 35 million fixed line, 24 million cellular mobile and
3.9 million internet subscribers including 0.9 million broadband customers. To
know more about BSNL, please log on to http://www.bsnl.co.in.

About UTStarcom, Inc.

UTStarcom is a global leader in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions
and international service and support. The company sells its solutions to
operators in both emerging and established telecommunications markets around
the world. UTStarcom enables its customers to rapidly deploy
revenue-generating access services using their existing infrastructure, while
providing a migration path to cost-efficient, end-to-end IP networks. Founded
in 1991 and headquartered in Alameda, California, the company has research and
development operations in the United States, Canada, China, Korea and India.
For more information about UTStarcom, visit the company's Web site at
http://www.utstar.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding the deployment of
UTStarcom products, including statements regarding the anticipated growth of
IPTV services in India. These statements are forward-looking in nature and
subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ
materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those contained in our forward-looking statements include: increased
competition; economic issues in the identified geographic markets; possible
delays in system deployment; risks associated with customer acceptance;
termination of new contracts, partnerships or alliances; changes in
anticipated number of subscribers and traffic; and changes in government
regulation and licensing requirements. Please also refer to UTStarcom's
periodic reports that are filed from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange commission, including our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. UTStarcom
assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update these
forward-looking statements.

SOURCE UTStarcom, Inc.