RealNetworks to Power emoticonSMS Delivery to BSNL Subscribers

RealNetworks to Power emoticonSMS Delivery to BSNL Subscribers

BSNL to be India's first implementation of this personalization service

LAS VEGAS, April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- From CTIA WIRELESS 2008 -- This week at CTIA WIRELESS 2008 in Las Vegas, RealNetworks(R), Inc. (NASDAQ:RNWK), the digital entertainment services company, today announced its agreement with India's largest telecommunication company, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), to provide the first-ever deployment of emoticonSMS services in India for BSNL's 39 million subscribers later this year.

Once a subscriber signs up for the service, emoticonSMS automatically converts his or her SMS text messages into SMS emoticons using keyword recognition technology. Subscribers can choose from 4,000 emoticons in 500 themes, making it simple to create unique and personalized messages for each of their contacts, every time.

"Through its global client roster, Real has clearly demonstrated its ability to serve our customer base with new and cutting edge features," said a senior BSNL official. "Delivering a premium experience to our subscribers has always been our primary goal, and working with Real to deliver emoticonSMS helps us continue providing the latest in personalization services while realizing benefits to our bottom line."

Real's services are currently available through 89 different carriers in 44 countries worldwide, making them available to 800.3 million subscribers. Real offers wireless providers a comprehensive selection of mobile services including Music on Demand, Games, Video, Personalization features (such as Ringtones, RBTs and Multimedia Ringback Services) as well as messaging services.

"emoticonSMS is another value-added service offered by Real that makes traditional SMS more engaging and fun," said Jay Kim, vice president, APAC & Music Business, RealNetworks. "This agreement helps position BSNL as a market leader for value-added services in India."

Real will showcase emoticonSMS and all of its mobile entertainment service offerings in booth number 4617 at CTIA WIRELESS, April 1-3, 2008 in Las Vegas.

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ABOUT REALNETWORKS(R)

RealNetworks, Inc. delivers digital entertainment services to consumers via PC, portable music player, home entertainment system or mobile phone. Real created the streaming media category in 1995 and has continued to lead the market with pioneering products and services, including: RealPlayer(R), the first mainstream media player to enable one-click downloading and recording of Internet video; the award-winning Rhapsody(R) digital music service, which delivers more than 1 billion songs per year; RealArcade(R), one of the largest casual games destinations on the Web; and a variety of mobile entertainment services, such as ringback tones, offered to consumers through leading wireless carriers around the world. RealNetworks' corporate information is located at http://www.realnetworks.com/company.

ABOUT BSNL

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) formed in October, 2000, is amongst World's leading Telecommunications Companies providing comprehensive range of telecom services in India, for example Wireline, CDMA mobile, GSM Mobile, Internet, Broadband, Carrier service, MPLS-VPN, VSAT, VoIP services, IN Services etc. Within a span of eight years it has become one of the largest public sector units in India. BSNL has set up a world class multi-gigabit, multi-protocol convergent IP infrastructure that provides convergent services like voice, data and video through the same Backbone and Broadband Access Network. BSNL cellular service, CellOne, has more than 38.9 million cellular customers and 31.5 million wire line customers as of Feb '08. BSNL's corporate information is located at http://www.bsnl.co.in/

RealNetworks, RealArcade, Rhapsody, RealPlayer and the Real logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, names of actual companies and products mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: meggers@real.com

Source: RealNetworks, Inc.

CONTACT: US, Jennifer Humiston of SHIFT Communications, +1-617-779-1812,
jhumiston@shiftcomm.com, for RealNetworks; or Tiffany Dunning,
+1-206-892-6733, tdunning@real.com, or Asia, Eric Suh, +82 2 2014 5377,
eric.suh@ap.real.com, both of RealNetworks

Web site:

http://www.realnetworks.com/
http://www.bsnl.co.in/

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