A new licensing agreement could signal a change in the fortunes of a hi-tech Bradford firm as it looks to dominate the lucrative European digital TV market.

Pace Micro Technology has been awarded a licence to use the Motorola Mediacipher CA technology in its set-top boxes. Pace is one of only two companies with a licence to use the device, known as Controlled Access, which stops viewers from watching pay-per-view cable television channels for free.

"The UK is well along the road to digital broadcasting, but in Europe there are hundreds of thousands of boxes that need replacing," a Pace spokesman said.

"There are huge opportunities for developers like ourselves to get into the market and sell our boxes to the cable broadcasters."

The deal could signal a change in the company's fortunes. The Saltaire-based firm recently issued a fifth profits warning and dsaid jobs might have to go because of poor sales abroad.

The licensing agreement with Motorola means the company will be able to bid for more contracts across Europe. Pace also has the licence for a similar system in America, giving it a strong global position.

"What it means is that as a lot of European broadcasters use this MediaCipher, Pace can work with more broadcasters and there are more opportunities for us to get business," a spokesman said.

"If a broadcaster like Sky is putting out a tender, if you haven't got a licence for CA there is no way you can compete to get that business.

"It shows that Pace is continuing to forge ahead making in-roads into Europe and as the only developer, along with Motorola, to have this licence it gives us a very good chance of getting the business."

Tim Fern, Pace's chief technology officer, said Motorola had an industry-leading reputation for secure access control systems. "With Pace as the first member of the MediaCipher SmartCard licensing program, cable operators now have a new and important choice for their home gateway strategies," he said.

"Effective home gateway security is vital if services are to evolve further and meet the demands of content owners, the operators and their customers."

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