Entry into the Asian growth market

Leading Asian online provider goes into higher gear with deuromedia solutions

Merzig, 22 August 2000 - deuromedia - the viewer company, a leading provider of software solutions for broadband transmission enters the Asian market: MiraeOnline, one of Korea's leading high-tech companies, has licensed deuromedia's entire range of products. The Korean company will deploy all the company's software modules for the generation, transmission and reception of broadband transmissions. The international partners that support the German software house with the corresponding hardware solutions are Harmonic Data Systems (Israel/USA), a leading manufacturer of hardware solutions for IP-Gateway and DVB reciever cards, and STM Wireless Inc. (USA), a VSAT network system provider for IP-based networks. MiraeOnline will use deuromedia's software platform to get ready for its next step: market entry into Korea and China with broadband solutions.

Infotainment in Asia: Internet is just the first step

MiraeOnline is a provider of digital TV, high-speed Internet and newscasting via satellite. The company entered the market for transmitting content on a digital basis in 1999: in co-operation with Lycos, Mirae set up an Internet portal in Korea. MiraeOnline now has access to extensive satellite and Internet bandwidth. As such, the company has created the conditions for fulfilling its corporate goals: software distribution, supplementary offers and services via dynamic bandwidth management on an IP basis. The solutions from deuromedia allow the Korean company to transport DVB-based content: in addition to providing broadband Internet access, the company can now offer formats such as video, audio and interactive television to its end-users. Once it has penetrated the Korean market, MiraeOnline will extend its activities into the Peoples Republic of China - entering an almost open market.

Ready for the broadband age

South Korea has the second highest number of Internet users in Asia after Japan. In many countries, the deployment of Ka-band satellites for broadband services is still in its infancy. Korea, on the other hand, is in the unusual position of having a Ku/Ka-band satellite available in a market characterised by its steep penetration rate. Traditional information channels such as TV, radio and PC are converging and, at the same time, providing added value. Against this background, the Internet sets the standard for interactiveness. deuromedia has found an efficient partner that knows the local market. The German company can now use this partnership to safeguard market shares in this crucial target market and react flexibly to local requirements in Asia. "MiraeOnline is the driving force in many of the business segments in which it operates, and our new broadband service is part of its strategy to gain market shares in the rapidly expanding area of Internet services in Korea," says Seok-Hwan Hong, technical director of MiraeOnline. "Through our links with deuromedia, we are now one of the leaders from a technological viewpoint, at a time when new standards are being introduced in the field of satellite broadband transmission," adds Hong.

International strategy

"This co-operation agreement is another step forward in our international alignment," explains deuromedia CEO, Dieter Weber. "For deuromedia, the co-operation with MiraeOnline is a decisive step towards becoming a global player and, at the same time, a strategic success in what will become the largest growth market in coming years."

About deuromedia - the viewer company

deuromedia - the viewer company is an international software and solution provider based at Merzig, in the heart of Europe. deuromedia supplies a proven sender-receiver concept for broadband transmission based on the ASTRA satellite infrastructure to enable users to ac-cess digital contents on PC or TV. deuromedia software solutions provide a seamless con-vergence of all digital data channels in combination with an individualised selection of infor-mation by the user. With "the viewer", the product portfolio offers a multimedia user interface, providing the end-user with an instrument to receive and experience TV, radio and Internet contents on PC or TV. deuromedia offers business customers its "viewpro" platform for workstations, the transmission tool "viewmotion" and the management software package "viewmanage", a system facilitating point-to-point or point-to-multipoint data transfers. The solutions offered by deuromedia - the viewer company have applications in the fields of in-fotainment, business TV, corporate TV, videoconferencing, point-of-information presence, e-commerce, teleworking and staff training, database exchanges, software updates/upgrades and distribution.

deuromedia - the viewer company was founded by Dieter Weber in 1996 and currently em-ploys 150 people worldwide in the development and marketing of software solutions. The Munich-based Technologieholding VC acquired an interest in the company in 1998. deu-romedia - the viewer company consists of four main divisions: "deuroconsult S.R.L.", which is responsible for development, "Platform Sales" for the marketing of transmission tools, "Business Development" in Merzig.

About MiraeOnline Co., Ltd

MiraeOnline, a subsidiary of the Mirae Corp. - the first Korean company to be listed on the Nasdaq - is a provider of broadband services and is based in Seongnam, Republic of Korea. MiraeOnline was founded at the beginning of 2000 and targets the market segments of digital TV, high speed Internet, newscasting and other broadcasting services via satellite in the Korean market.

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