Opera browser selected by Pirelli Broadband Solutions for its line of set-top boxes

Oslo, Norway – September 7, 2006

Opera Software today announced that Pirelli Broadband Solutions, the broadband access and photonics company within the Pirelli Group, has selected the Opera browser for its family of set-top boxes (STB). By adding the Opera browser to its multimedia solutions, Pirelli will be able to strengthen its home entertainment package with full Internet functionality.

Subscribers using Pirelli’s STBs will be able to check their e-mail, read the news or even update their blogs from the comfort of their living room via the Opera browser.

“We admire Pirelli’s drive to always offer next generation solutions that include the latest in innovation, and see that the addition of the Opera browser strengthens their strategy to combat competition with innovation,” says Michael Link, Product Manager, Opera Software. “Opera benefits Pirelli by providing them with latest in Web technology, including AJAX applications. We are delivering the power of the Web to Pirelli to help them provide the best IPTV solution on the market today.”

“For our set-top boxes, we selected the Opera browser because of its speed and overall excellent performance on TV screens,” said Corrado Rocca, senior vice president, Product Marketing and Development – Broadband Access Products, for Pirelli Broadband Solutions. “We are seeing an increase in the demand for devices with full Web browsing capabilities. Moreover, customers want the same browsing experience that they get from their PCs, and Opera is one of the few companies that can deliver such high-quality browsing experience.”

Pirelli’s new high-definition set-top boxes provide the foundation for the ideal home entertainment center. By bringing together IPTV and digital terrestrial television into one powerful multimedia platform, Pirelli enables the delivery of a wide range of content bundles.

About Pirelli Broadband Solutions

Pirelli Broadband Solutions is the Company within the Pirelli Group specializing in broadband access technology and photonics. The Access division provides service- oriented home and business networking solutions including a wide range of broadband CPE, such as access gateways, set-top boxes, multiple handsets including a recently announced GSM/Wi-Fi dual-mode phone, and a remote management system. The Photonics division leverages nanotechnology and its use of tunable and pluggable solutions to deliver multi-wavelength components, modules and subsystems, including tunable lasers, GPON triplexers, an integrable tunable laser assembly, radio over fiber, and a CWDM metro access system.

About Opera for Devices

Opera provides an optimized implementation of Internet technologies for handheld devices, digital TV and other devices, with innovative and powerful features that seamlessly adapt the Internet experience to suit varying screen sizes and input devices. In addition to being a full Internet browser, Opera is a high performance execution environment for Web applications and dynamic user interfaces based on interoperable open Web technologies such as AJAX.
http://www.opera.com/devices/