GoldTV Announces Plans to Deploy Broadband IP Television Services Throughout Italy; Minerva Networks and nCUBE Corporation Selected to Provide Core Infrastructure.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 2001

GoldTV a developer and reseller of broadband IP Television services based in Milan, Italy, today announced it has selected Minerva(R) Networks, a leading provider of carrier-class video networking solutions and nCUBE, a leading global provider of scalable streaming media solutions, to provide the infrastructure at the core of it's broadband video delivery network. Together the companies will deliver a complete end-to-end IP Television solution to residents throughout northern Italy. With a potential subscriber base of over 10 million people, this deployment places GoldTV in a position to lead the IP Television deployments occurring throughout Europe.

"Satellite dishes are very difficult to install on the roofs because of the old buildings throughout our Italian provinces. Network-based television is a more viable way to offer a full lineup to Italian households. Additionally, satellite networks are poorly suited for delivering true video on demand," explained Marco Coletta, chairman of GoldTV. "We see IP Television as the future in home entertainment and Minerva and nCUBE stand out as leading suppliers of IP Television technology. We look forward to working with them to bring high-quality digital video services to the Italian market."

Together with nCUBE Corporation, Minerva Networks is providing GoldTV with technology for the delivery of multi-channel IP Television services over broadband networks. Minerva will integrate its Minerva MediaGateway DVB-to-IP demultiplexers with nCUBE's n4 streaming media servers to provide 50 channels of DVD-quality IP Television and video-on-demand (VOD) services. Minerva iTVManager completes the solution, by offering subscriber and media management services from an application running on a set-top box (STB) at the client premises. The client application features a localized Italian language graphical user interface to access an electronic program guide (EPG) and navigation menu to select a broad range of television services.

"We applaud GoldTV's efforts to bring advanced television services to Italy," comments Michael Pohl, president of nCUBE. "We look forward to working with Minerva to provide GoldTV an end-to-end scalable solution for IP television and VOD."

Earlier this year, GoldTV tested its IP Television platform to validate the network and service offering. By the first quarter of next year, several hundred paying subscribers will experience IP Television in their homes. In addition to live television and VOD, GoldTV will continue to expand their offering by adding unique services made possible by its flexible IP-based infrastructure. Services such as targeted advertising, near video on demand (nVOD), and network-based personal video recording (PVR), which allows users to pause, rewind and fast-forward live television and movies without the need for a local hard-drive, are examples of the additional offerings contemplated by the company.

"We have been working closely with GoldTV to tailor our platform to the specific requirements of the Italian market," said Mauro Bonomi, CEO and president of Minerva Networks, Inc. "By leveraging a best-of-breed broadband IP television infrastructure and compelling content, GoldTV is uniquely positioned to enter the northern Italian market."

About Minerva Networks, Inc.

Minerva Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of carrier-class video networking solutions that enable the delivery of broadcast-quality interactive television and video services over broadband networks. Our IP Television management software, media encoders and media gateways combine to form complete IP Television Headends for the end-to-end delivery of video services over broadband IP networks. Broadband network operators worldwide use Minerva Networks' products and services to deliver next-generation entertainment, communication and e-commerce applications. Minerva Networks is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. and is available on the Internet at www.minervanetworks.com.

About nCUBE

nCUBE (www.nCUBE.com) provides scalable streaming media solutions to all broadband networks. Broadband operators worldwide count on nCUBE to provide solutions for broadband video-on-demand, IP streaming media and advertising insertion.

The company's core product line, the n4 streaming media appliance, can scale from 100 megabits per second to 128 gigabits per second of streaming media from a single system. nCUBE systems are used by today's leading interactive television companies. nCUBE's distinguished customer and partner list includes: Alcatel, AT&T, Bertelsmann, Enron Broadband Services, Cisco Systems, Charter Communications, Gemstar-TV Guide, Liberate, Motorola, Scientific-Atlanta, RealNetworks, Telewest Communications and Time Warner. nCUBE is a contributing member of numerous industry forums and standards bodies including the ISO/IEC MPEG committee, Digital Video Broadcasting, Society of Cable Television Engineers and Internet Engineering Task Force. The company is based in Foster City, Calif., with sales and customer support offices in Colorado, Oregon, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and China.