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TechnoConcepts Announces Licensing Agreement With IPTV Set-Top Box Design Firm With $30 Million of Initial Orders

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 June 2005, 09:00 CDT

TechnoConcepts Inc. (OTCBB:TCPS), a pioneer and innovator of True Software Radio (TSR) wireless to digital technology, announced today that it has signed a technology transfer and licensing agreement with set-top box design firm Shanghai Jinshilin Technologies Development Company, Ltd. ("Jinshilin"). As part of the agreement, Jinshilin will license certain Internet Protocol Television ("IPTV") technology for set-top boxes ("STB's") and transfer purchase orders for approximately 300,000 IPTV STB's to TechnoConcepts' to be formed Chinese subsidiary. This subsidiary will begin to fulfill pending orders for approximately $30 million worth of Jinshilin IPTV set-top boxes by the end of the year. It is expected that all current purchase orders will be filled by the fall of 2006.

As a result of collaborative efforts this past year, TechnoConcepts has licensed from Jinshilin all of its intellectual property for Internet Protocol Network Television (IPTV), Stream Media Protocol Processing, Broadcasting Software for IPTV-STB and IPTV-STB providing On-Line Family Real Time Payment Service. The operations shall be conducted by China Jinshilin Techno, TechnoConcept's Chinese subsidiary which will be based in Shanghai, China. Formation of this subsidiary is pending Chinese Government approval that is expected to be received by August 1, 2005. Under the terms of the agreement, Jinshilin shall receive a licensing royalty equal to 5% of the net revenue that China Jinshilin Techno derives from the sale of IPTV set-top boxes.

TechnoConcepts will integrate certain technologies with Jinshilin's existing IPTV set-top box design and commence commercialization of the IPTV-STB product for delivery of television content via the Internet. IPTV set-top boxes provide for delivery of digital television programming received from the Internet to conventional audio/video inputs to television sets. The Company believes that future generation IPTV set-top boxes in China will support multi-protocol wireless connectivity with television, DVD players and other multi-media appliances.

China's second largest media group, The Shanghai Media Group (SMG), recently became the first television network to receive a license to send programming to home receivers via Internet protocol. SMG has been authorized to deliver to its subscribers SMG's existing twelve television channels plus programming purchased from other stations and video-on-demand content providers. The IPTV set-top box market is rapidly expanding in China, with industry analysts projecting between 60 million to 100 million units to be sold by the end of 2007.

The purchase orders received by Jinshilin are from several large enterprises, including a Fortune 50 software company that is already established in the IPTV market, a large Chinese telecom company, a leading bank, a Chinese and European joint venture company and a Chinese media conglomerate. Jinshilin's IPTV-STB has been selected by these customers after testing the prototypes and evaluating numerous alternatives. A recent technical evaluation by Alcatel Network Support System Company, Inc. (Alcatel) of products for this market determined that Jinshilin's IPTV-STB is fully compliant with existing specifications for both the Chinese and European market. Jinshilin's IPTV-STB has been added to the global procurement system of Alcatel Group for availability in the European IPTV market, where Alcatel Group has a 60% share of the IPTV market. TechnoConcepts and Jinshilin have been collaborating over the past year.

Commenting on the announcement, Zuoping Zhang, President of Jinshilin, stated, "We at Jinshlin would like to thank TechnoConcepts for the mutual trust and successful cooperation between our companies established over the past year. Fulfilling our initial purchase orders represents the first of many milestones we expect to achieve together in the Chinese and global IPTV STB market. We believe TechnoConcepts will improve our technologies and product variety, which will benefit our companies. We believe that the market opportunity for TechnoConcepts' new China subsidiary is enormous. The response that we have already received from world leading companies has been overwhelmingly positive. We expect the China Jinshilin Techno IPTV STB to gain a significant market share in China. Joining a technology innovator like TechnoConcepts provides an excellent opportunity to advance Jinshilin's design and technology into commercial success."

Antonio Turgeon, Chairman of TechnoConcepts, Inc., stated, "The agreement with Jinshilin immediately provides TechnoConcepts with a sizeable revenue opportunity in IPTV set-top boxes - a market that is forecasted to experience extraordinary growth over the coming years. Future generation set-top boxes in China will support multi-protocol wireless connectivity with television, DVD players and other multi-media appliances. We believe Techno's proprietary True Software Radio(TM) (TSR) integrated into Jinshilin's IPTV-STB will result in a product offering with truly revolutionary capabilities. As standards evolve and STB modifications are required, the Jinshilin IPTV STB will only require software modifications to accommodate the changes rather than hardware revisions as was the case in Beta Max versus VHS standards. Moreover, the formation of a TechnoConcepts operating subsidiary in China gives us the ability to capitalize on substantial business in the Far East. We very much look forward to furthering our relationship with Zuoping Zhang and the entire Jinshilin team."

There will be an audio conference call on June 15, 2005 at 4:15 EST (1:15 PST) to discuss this major corporate development. The call will be hosted by the Chairman and is open to interested parties. Participants need to call (866) 537-9659 and enter the pass code: 9460572#.

About Jinshilin Technologies Development Company, Ltd.

Jinshilin Technologies Development Company, based in Shanghai, China, is a technology company specializing in research, development and applications of video and audio technology and embedding technology. Jinshilin has pending patent applications and continues to apply for new patents for Network Television (IPTV), Stream Media Protocol Processing, and Broadcasting Software for IPTV-STB, IPTV-STB providing On-Line Family Real Time Payment Service, as well as others.

About TechnoConcepts, Inc.

TechnoConcepts, Inc. (www.technoconcepts.com) is a leader in developing and delivering software based radio technology and has developed a technology it has labeled, True Software Radio(TM). This patented technology enables a transceiver based on a semiconductor chip to directly convert Radio Frequency (RF) to digital signal (receive) and from digital to RF (transmit). This direct conversion will permit interoperability for wireless devices across various networks and protocols. TSR is a cost-effective technology that can enable direct device-to-device communication. Techno has announced agreements with multinational government and commercial organizations and is working with a number of major wireless communications companies for the use of its technology in military, homeland security, consumer, and industrial applications.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- Forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Such statements may relate, among other things, to our expected financial and operating results, the expected acceptance of our products and their usefulness to our license partner, our ability to recognize revenue under the license agreements, our belief that necessary governmental approvals for licensing will be successfully obtained, the benefits of our products generally and the acceptance of our technological solutions and our ability to achieve our goals, plans and objectives. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: difficulties providing solutions that meet the needs of customers, difficulty developing new products, difficulty in relationships with vendors and partners, difficulty in introducing our products to the marketplace and gaining acceptance of the same, difficulty gaining necessary governmental approvals, difficulty facing the intense competition present in the wireless communications industry, our limited operating history, our inexperience in operating internationally and difficulty managing rapid growth. For a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties of our business, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2004 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein.

Source: Business Wire

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