SAMSUNG, STMicroelectronics and Metalink Unveil Wireless High-Definition IPTV Set-Top Box at CeBIT

Seoul, Korea; Geneva, Switzerland; and Yakum, Israel, March 19 , 2007 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies ; STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), the leader in set-top box chips ; and Metalink Ltd. (NASDAQ: MTLK), a provider of high-performance wireless and wireline broadband communication silicon solutions, today announced their collaboration to launch a revolutionary set-top box, which supports high-definition (HD) TV quality based on 802.11n wireless IPTV standard, at CeBIT in Hanover, Germany, March 15-21, 2007. CeBIT is the world’s largest trade fair showcasing digital IT and telecommunications solutions for home and work environments.

Samsung’s SMT-H6155 is specifically designed for the delivery of HD IPTV over wireless LAN. It is equipped with the STi7109 chipset providing the HD video decoding technology from STMicroelectronics , and Metalink ’s 802.11n WLAN Plus Ô chipset enabl ing the wireless delivery of multiple HD video streams throughout the home.

“Our customers have shown great demand for high-definition multimedia contents via IPTV and the ability to facilitate content using Wireless LAN,” said HEE-WON PARK , Vice President of Samsung’s STB Development Group. “We believe that Samsung’s SMT-H6155, equipped with STMicroelectronics’ decoder and Metalink’s 802.11n chipsets, will satisfy our consumers as a top-of-the-line set-top box for HD IPTV. The SMT-H6155 will be a product that consumers can come to trust and believe in as it represents Samsung’s highest standard for quality"

“Samsung is a global leader in set-top box products and a major customer of ST,” commented Christos Lagomichos, Corporate Vice President, Home Entertainment Group General Manager at STMicroelectronics. “We are happy that our market leading HD decoder in cooperation with Metalink’s WLAN Plus allows us to provide Samsung with the most innovative and robust solution in the market today. This platform demonstrates the capability of ST’s advanced decoders, such as the STi71xx family, which allows the set-top box to become a core multimedia appliance in the home network, for both operator and retail markets.”

“We are proud to work together with set-top box global market leaders Samsung and STMicroelectronics,” said Tzvika Shukhman, Metalink’s chairman and CEO. “This cutting-edge product, embedding our WLAN Plus technology, represents an important milestone in making ‘service provider grade’ HD video networking over wireless LAN a reality. ”

To see a live demonstration of the solution please visit Samsung booth , D60 at Hall 26.

Mike Arden, Principal Analyst, Broadband and Multimedia Research at ABI Research, noted: “STMicroelectronics holds the leading market share for STB decoders, and Samsung is the leading STB vendor in Asia-Pacific and second worldwide. Together, these companies will be in a strong position to capture market share in the IPTV STB market, which will grow from 4.7 million units shipped in 2006 to 41.2 million units shipped in 2011.”