Thomson beats the trend with 60% growth in Wi-Fi shipments 

6/4/2009

In-Stat report shows Thomson enjoying massive success despite an overall shrinking market

Paris (France), 4 June 2009 – According to new research from leading independent research body In-Stat, Thomson (Euronext 18453; NYSE: TMS), a worldwide leader of services to content creators, was a big winner in the Wi-Fi market in 2008, growing its shipments by almost 60% over the previous year, a remarkable achievement in an overall market for wireless LAN products which shrank by 2.4% year on year in the fourth quarter. Thomson’s market share, which is concentrated in the home gateway sector, rose to almost 8% worldwide.

Driving this growth has been Thomson’s advanced solutions for telecom and cable operators, including the introduction of Wi-Fi 802.11n for high-speed networking, particularly when combined with advances in broadband to the home such as VDSL and fibre.

“While all markets are challenged in the current economic climate, we expect Wi-Fi to continue to do well as its low cost, flexibility and maturity make it a valued technology for both businesses and consumers,” said Victoria Fodale, In-Stat analyst.

“ There is clearly a great deal of interest worldwide in moving from wired to wireless networking, especially with the speed of 802.11n, combined with Thomson’s software solutions which optimize the ability of service operators to assist their subscribers in setting-up, maintaining and upgrading a home network, and deploy new services in this home network” said Pascal Portelli, Vice President Broadband & Connected Devices, Thomson. “We were the first vendor to bring a Wi-Fi 802.11n gateway product to market and, combined with our experience and expertise, it led us to achieve this remarkable growth year on year. With the growing interest in the networked home, we are confident that we will continue to enjoy this level of success .”

Thomson launched a new range of 802.11n gateways during 2009, allowing service providers to offer multiple services including high quality video over wireless. The offer is compelling to the subscriber and gives the network operator the potential to increase revenue opportunities and reduce churn. The range is also designed with environmental considerations in mind, including reduced power operation by turning off the wireless when not needed and an embedded low power state for Wireless.

From the launch of its first Wireless router in 2002, Thomson has crossed the threshold of 20 million wireless gateways shipped.

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Certain statements in this press release, including any discussion of management expectations for future periods, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements due to changes in global economic and business conditions, ”media and entertainment” markets, and regulatory factors. More detailed information on the potential factors that could affect the financial results of Thomson is contained in Thomson's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Thomson :
Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) is a worldwide leader of services to content creators. http://www.thomson.net

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