First Italian TV Channel For 2.5G & 3G Phones

Italy : Class Editori S.p.A., the majority investor in Cfn/Cnbc, has teamed up with Ustream.it to create Cfn/CnbcMobile, the first financial-news TV channel in Italy whose broadcasts can be viewed via mobile telephone.

Cfn/CnbcMobile through which subscribers can view videoclips of the financial news produced by Cfn/Cnbc that are currently published on the Milano Finanza Internet site. The new service can be picked up by mobile telephones operating with GPRS technology (2.5G) and UMTS technology (3G). Persons interested in subscribing to the Cfn/Cnbc Mobile service can do so through their mobile telephones with a simple charge to their mobile account, without having to register through the Internet or to pay via credit card.

At present, the service can be delivered through the Nokia 7650, a product now widely available in Italy. With the planned debut of other new mobile telephones by leading manufacturers, the Cfn/Cnbc Mobile will soon be available through a range of models.

Subscribers to Cfn/Cnbc Mobile may choose between two services: “Cfn/Cnbc Mobile TG Finanziario”, with eight daily updates that will allow for following the principal news developments during the day and the trend of market indices, or “Cfn/Cnbc Archivio”, which will allow for taping into the Cfn/Cnbc video archives and downloading a specific number of filmed broadcasts over a defined period of time.

In order to view the filmed broadcasts, subscriber telephones will need "Oplayer", special software produced by Oplayo Oy and distributed in Italy by Ustream.it. The video transmission service (streaming) will instead be operated by Ustream.it through the “AFS Streaming” platform of AffinityServe Oy. This platform, which is based on Java technology and uses servers produced by Hewlett-Packard (Nyse:HPQ), supplies all operating instruments needed for the supply of the video service: access, billing and content management.

Commenting on the introduction of the new service, Paolo Panerai, manager and editor of Class Editori S.p.A., stated: “With this new service, Class Editori has once again demonstrated that it is a leader in the use of the entire array of technologies currently available for reporting the news: print, Internet, television, digital radio, satellite and mobile telephones. Cfn/Cnbc remains the top-ranking television channel in Italy in broadcasting news on the international financial markets, offering its audience the possibility of viewing broadcasts on their mobile telephones. Cfn/Cnbc also provides a service to companies whereby they can communicate at any time with their customers and shareholders, whether in Italy or abroad, with the partnership capitalizing on the services of Cnbc, which has an international circuit spanning Asia, Europe and the U.S. allowing for real-time transmission of news."

Marko Maras, founder and technical director of Ustream.it, also commented on the introduction of the service, indicating that "Working as a technical partner with Class Editori has substantiated the validity of the solutions which we have procured for delivering services of mobile streaming. Class Editori is a strategic supplier of content for the target customers who are interested in mobile services at this time. With the use of Oplayo technology and AffinityServe and the solidity of the HP servers, we have developed a turn-key solution for Class Editori and for content providers who are interested in getting into the business of mobile streaming.”