FREMONT, Calif. – February 5, 2007 – Digital Fountain’s DF Raptor technology, which optimizes digital media delivery over any network, will power a unique digital music download (DMD) service from UBC Media. The service will be available later this year to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB)-enabled mobile phone customers in the United Kingdom through select mobile providers.

 

In September 2006, UBC won the prestigious Innovation in Music & Entertainment Award (IMEA) at the annual Popkomm event in Berlin for the groundbreaking DMD service, which is the world’s first dedicated ‘impulse purchase’ digital music download service for DAB radio stations which enables digital radio listeners to buy a track they hear on the radio and download it immediately to a mobile device.

 

UBC’s technology division, Unique Interactive, developed the DMD technology to allow listeners to purchase tracks instantly, as they are broadcast by digital radio stations, and to download them to mobile devices, such as digital radio-enabled mobile phones. So, while the mobile user is listening to his or her favorite song, the song is automatically downloaded to the phone. Digital Fountain’s DF Raptor software ensures that the music files are quickly and successfully delivered, so that the entire song is downloaded to the phone in real time while the user is listening to it. 

 

“Digital Fountain’s DF Raptor software is an integral part of our unique digital music download service,” says Pascal Grierson, DMD’s Content & Commercial Director. “The speed and efficiency of the music download enabled by DF Raptor helps ensure that our customers’ DMD experience is immensely satisfying.” 

 

Digital Fountain’s DF Raptor software is an erasure correction code that mathematically recovers missing or lost data without requiring retransmission from the sender. DF Raptor increases file transmission efficiency even in extreme network conditions, enabling the delivery of more content over a broader geographic range while consuming less bandwidth. The technology is deployed by major mobile carriers across the globe, and is also used for IPTV and national security / defense applications.

 

“This innovative and unique mobile music download service illustrates the flexibility of our DF Raptor technology, and its ability to optimize file delivery for a variety of mobile applications,” said Charlie Oppenheimer, CEO of Digital Fountain. “We are pleased to be part of UBC’s ground-breaking DMD offering.”

 

Recent trials of UBC’s DMD service in the UK yielded impressive results, including 83 percent of participants expressing a desire to use DAB-enabled mobile devices in the future. In addition, 84 percent were pleased with DMD’s ease of use, and each participant purchased an average of seven songs per week at a price of £1.25 (around $2.45 USD). The service was especially appealing to women and to those with little experience with music downloads. 

 

Digital Fountain software optimizes delivery of digital media over any network. The company’s proprietary DF Raptor technology redefines the science of forward error correction (FEC) and sets the standard for efficient and reliable transmission of digital media, even in the most challenging network environments. Digital Fountain technologies are used today in advanced mobile broadcast, streaming video, IPTV, file transfer, and national defense applications, and are recognized by leading international standards bodies including DVB, 3GPP and IETF. Partners and customers include leading global companies such as Cisco Systems, Sumitomo Electric Networks, Scientific Atlanta, Northrop Grumman, Pioneer, KDDI, Sirius Satellite Radio, XM Radio, Sony, Nokia, and many more; www.digitalfountain.com.

 

UBC is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market. The Group is the market leader in the supply of audio content and broadcast data software to the radio industry in the UK. In addition to the entertainment, traffic & travel and national news services provided to commercial radio, the Group is the largest independent producer of radio programming for the BBC and the UK's leading supplier of digital radio scrolling text and EPG software. The Group also has significant digital radio broadcasting interests including Classic Gold Digital, the nationally distributed classic hits format. It is also part of the MXR Regional Multiplex consortium.