Louisville, Colorado, September 30, 2002—Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs®) today announced that 14 companies responded to the CableLabs OpenCable™ Application Platform (OCAP) request for proposal (RFP) for implementations. Respondents included: ADB, Alticast, Canal+ Technologies, Espial, Liberate, Microsoft, OpenTV, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Tata Elxi, Vidiom Systems, and Zentek/DigiSoft. OCAP is the middleware solution for advanced interactive OpenCable �host� devices, including both set-top boxes and integrated DTVs.

The purpose of the RFP was to solicit industry implementations of OCAP to hasten the ability of cable operators to launch new services made possible by OCAP. Accompanying the RFP was a letter signed by the CableLabs Executive Committee that encouraged companies to respond in order to help cable operators make purchase decisions, either buying devices directly or supporting them at retail. Participating cable companies include AT&T Broadband, Charter, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Time Warner Cable.

�Most of the responding companies have extensive experience with the European MHP specification,� commented Don Dulchinos, Vice President of Advanced Platforms and Services, �which comprises a large portion of OCAP. In addition most of the companies responding to the RFP have well-defined target platforms, and many are offering support and tool kits for application developers.�

According to CableLabs, some suppliers indicated very aggressive timelines—with implementation target dates as early as first quarter of 2003. �We were pleased that the vendors are making such great progress on OCAP,� said Dick Green, CEO of CableLabs. �Most of the developers appear to have roadmaps for porting the software to various hardware platforms, so we expect to see some OCAP implementations in the labs for testing within the next several months.�

The OCAP software specification facilitates application portability on OpenCable set-top boxes and digital television, whether such devices are deployed by a cable operator or bought at retail. With OCAP, retail devices will be able to receive the same advanced services that are available to set-top boxes that are provided by the cable operator, including electronic program guides, video-on-demand, electronic commerce, and other interactive services.

CableLabs conducted a technical evaluation of each submitted RFP. Information of a commercial nature was submitted directly by each respondent to the cable operators participating in the process. The cable operators will make their own independent business decisions about which, if any, vendors to conduct detailed discussions with.

About CableLabs: Cable Television Laboratories (www.cablelabs.com) was founded in 1988 by members of the cable television industry. A non-profit research and development consortium, CableLabs is dedicated to pursuing new cable telecommunications technologies and to helping its cable operator members integrate those advancements into their business objectives. Cable operators from around the world are members. CableLabs maintains additional web sites at www.cablenet.org, www.ebif.tv and www.tru2way.com.

CableCARD™, CableHome®, CableLabs®, CableNET®, CablePC™, DCAS™, DOCSIS®, DPoE™, EBIF™, Go2BroadbandSM, M-Card™, OpenCable™, PacketCable™, PeerConnect™, and tru2way® are marks of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.