OSLO, Norway, Feb. 6, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- As a result of research, Telenor (Nasdaq:TELN) has developed technology for effectively transferring video over different networks, such as the Internet and UMTS. This is a part of the multimedia standard MPEG-4. Together with a number of other global leaders in the field, Telenor has established a major international license programme for commercializing video coding patents in this standard. The license programme makes the technology available for suppliers who develop products based on the standard. This will enable a breakthrough in the market for video on demand.
"MPEG-4 is a promising technology for offering video on demand to the PC via the Internet," said Berit Svendsen, Telenor's Chief Technical Officer, who also heads the Group's R&D activity.
"The big question is whether the users will want to have entertainment and video clips directly in their PC. With this technology, what is on offer will be far cheaper than the usual TV and earlier PC-based solutions," said Berit Svendsen.
Among the total 19 participants in the new license programme are a number of leading Japanese companies such as Sony and Toshiba, the American companies Microsoft and Royal Philips Electronics and operators such as the Japanese KDDI, France Telecom and Telenor. All hold patents within the new multimedia standard MPEG-4, and are working together in a joint programme for using the patents commercially. The aim is to stimulate early investment, development and use of MPEG-4 products. When many patents are accumulated in one license that can be used throughout the world on the same terms, this will simplify the users' access to and use of the patents. The license programme shall be administered by the American company MPEG LA, and income from royalties will be split between the programme participants.
Telenor's patent in MPEG-4 is a result of the work carried out on video coding in the 90s, by researcher Gisle Bjontegaard. This work resulted in fundamental parts of the H 263 standard, a standard that was used as a basis for developing the MPEG-4. Industry and R&D environments throughout the world have contributed to improving the new standard, but it is still based on parts of Telenor's fundamental algorithm.
"This shows that Telenor's research is up front with the rest of the world, and that it is possible to obtain a concrete return on the research results," stressed CTO Berit Svendsen.
Berit Svendsen refers to the experiences from the previous license programme in this area, MPEG-2 (which is used in all DVD players), which turned out to be a clear commercial success for everyone involved. The expectations for the new programme are not any less -- seen in light of the broadband development and the increased access to new multimedia services.