FORM OF INDEMNITY AGREEMENT W- EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

COM21, INC.



INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT







THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into this 3 day of 2, 4 by and between Com21, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and 1 ("Indemnitee").



RECITALS:



A. The Company and Indemnitee recognize the continued difficulty in obtaining liability insurance for corporate directors, officers, employees, controlling persons, agents and fiduciaries, the significant increases in the cost of such insurance and the general reductions in the coverage of such insurance.



B. The Company and Indemnitee further recognize the substantial increase in corporate litigation in general, subjecting directors, officers, employees, controlling persons, agents and fiduciaries to expensive litigation risks at the same time as the availability and coverage of liability insurance has been severely limited.



C. The stockholders of the Company have adopted Bylaws (the "Bylaws") providing for the indemnification of the officers, directors, agents and employees of the Company to the maximum extent authorized by Section 145 of the Delaware Corporations Code, as amended ("Code").



D. Indemnitee does not regard the current protection available for the Company's directors, officers, employees, controlling persons, agents and fiduciaries as adequate under the present circumstances, and Indemnitee and other directors, officers, employees, controlling persons, agents and fiduciaries of the Company may not be willing to serve or continue to serve in such capacities without additional protection.



E. The Bylaws and the Code, by their non-exclusive nature, permit contracts between the Company and the members of its Board of Directors with respect to indemnification of such directors.



F. The Company (i) desires to attract and retain the involvement of highly qualified individuals, such as Indemnitee, to serve the Company and, in part, in order to induce Indemnitee to be involved with the Company and (ii) wishes to provide for the indemnification and advancing of expenses to Indemnitee to the maximum extent permitted by law.



G. In view of the considerations set forth above, the Company desires that Indemnitee be indemnified by the Company as set forth herein.











NOW, THEREFORE, the Company and Indemnitee hereby agree as follows:



1. Indemnification of Indemnitee.



The Company hereby agrees to indemnify Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by law, even if such indemnification is not specifically authorized by the other provisions of this Agreement, the Company's Certificate of Incorporation (the "Certificate"), the Company's Bylaws or by statute. In the event of any change after the date of this Agreement in any applicable law, statute or rule which expands the right of a Delaware corporation to indemnify a member of its Board of Directors or an officer, employee, controlling person, agent or fiduciary, it is the intent of the parties hereto that Indemnitee shall enjoy by this Agreement the greater benefits afforded by such change. In the event of any change in any applicable law, statute or rule which narrows the right of a Delaware corporation to indemnify a member of its Board of Directors or an officer, employee, agent or fiduciary, such change, to the extent not otherwise required by such law, statute or rule to be applied to this Agreement, shall have no effect on this Agreement or the parties' rights and obligations hereunder except as set forth in Section 10(a) hereof.



2. Additional Indemnity. The Company hereby agrees to hold harmless and indemnify the Indemnitee:



a. against any and all expenses incurred by

Indemnitee, as set forth in Section 3(a) below; and



b. otherwise to the fullest extent not prohibited by

the Certificate, the Bylaws or the Code.



3. Indemnification Rights.



a. Indemnification of Expenses. The Company shall indemnify and hold harmless Indemnitee, together with Indemnitee's partners, affiliates, employees, agents and spouse and each person who controls any of them or who may be liable within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or Section 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), to the fullest extent permitted by law if Indemnitee was or is or becomes a party to or witness or other participant in, or is threatened to be made a party to or witness or other participant in, any threatened, pending or completed action, suit, proceeding or alternative dispute resolution mechanism, or any hearing, inquiry or investigation that Indemnitee and the Company believe might lead to the institution of any such action, suit, proceeding or alternative dispute resolution mechanism, whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or other (hereinafter a "Claim") against any and all expenses (including attorneys' fees and all other costs, expenses and obligations incurred in connection with investigating, defending, being a witness in or participating in (including on appeal), or preparing to defend, be a witness in or participate in, any such action, suit, proceeding, alternative dispute resolution mechanism,













hearing, inquiry or investigation, judgments, fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement (if such settlement is approved in advance by the Company, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld) of such Claim and any federal, state, local or foreign taxes imposed on Indemnitee as a result of the actual or deemed receipt of any payments under this Agreement (collectively, hereinafter "Expenses"), including all interest, assessments and other charges paid or payable in connection with or in respect of such Expenses, incurred by Indemnitee by reason of (or arising in part out of) any event or occurrence related to the fact that Indemnitee is or was a director, officer, employee, controlling person, agent or fiduciary of the Company, or any subsidiary of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee, controlling person, agent or fiduciary of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, or by reason of any action or inaction on the part of Indemnitee while serving in such capacity including, without limitation, any and all losses, claims, damages, expenses and liabilities, joint or several (including any investigation, legal and other expenses incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit, proceeding or any claim asserted) under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, which relate directly or indirectly to the registration, purchase, sale or ownership of any securities of the Company or to any fiduciary obligation owed with respect thereto (hereinafter an "Indemnification Event"). Such payment of Expenses shall be made by the Company as soon as practicable but in any event no later than twenty-five (25) days after written demand by Indemnitee therefor is presented to the Company.



b. Reviewing Party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (i) the obligations of the Company under Section 2 shall be subject to the condition that the Reviewing Party (as described in Section 12(e) hereof) shall not have determined (in a written opinion, in any case in which the Independent Legal Counsel referred to in Section 3(c) hereof is involved) that Indemnitee would not be permitted to be indemnified under applicable law, and (ii) and Indemnitee acknowledges and agrees that the obligation of the Company to make an advance payment of Expenses to Indemnitee pursuant to Section 4(a) (an "Expense Advance") shall be subject to the condition that, if, when and to the extent that the Reviewing Party determines that Indemnitee would not be permitted to be so indemnified under applicable law, the Company shall be entitled to be reimbursed by Indemnitee (who hereby agrees to reimburse the Company) for all such amounts theretofore paid; provided, however, that if Indemnitee has commenced or thereafter commences legal proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction to secure a determination that Indemnitee should be indemnified under applicable law, any determination made by the Reviewing Party that Indemnitee would not be permitted to be indemnified under applicable law shall not be binding and Indemnitee shall not be required to reimburse the Company for any Expense Advance until a final judicial determination is made with respect thereto (as to which all rights of appeal therefrom have been exhausted or lapsed). Indemnitee's obligation to reimburse the Company for any Expense Advance shall be unsecured and no interest shall be charged thereon. If there has not been a Change in Control (as defined in Section 12(c) hereof), the Reviewing Party shall be selected by the Board of Directors, and if there has been such a Change in Control (other than a Change in Control which has been approved by a majority of the Company's Board of













Directors who were directors immediately prior to such Change in Control), the Reviewing Party shall be the Independent Legal Counsel referred to in Section 3(e) hereof. If there has been no determination by the Reviewing Party or if the Reviewing Party determines that Indemnitee substantively would not be permitted to be indemnified in whole or in part under applicable law, Indemnitee shall have the right to commence litigation seeking an initial determination by the court or challenging any such determination by the Reviewing Party or any aspect thereof, including the legal or factual bases therefor, and the Company hereby consents to service of process and to appear in any such proceeding. Any determination by the Reviewing Party otherwise shall be conclusive and binding on the Company and Indemnitee.



c. Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in Section 3(a) above for any reason is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unavailable to an Indemnitee in respect of any losses, claims, damages, expenses or liabilities referred to therein, then the Company, in lieu of indemnifying Indemnitee thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by Indemnitee as a result of such losses, claims, damages, expenses or liabilities (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and Indemnitee, or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company and Indemnitee in connection with the action or inaction which resulted in such losses, claims, damages, expenses or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. In connection with the registration of the Company's securities, the relative benefits received by the Company and Indemnitee shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions that the net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the Indemnitee, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the applicable prospectus, bear to the aggregate public offering price of the securities so offered. The relative fault of the Company and Indemnitee shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or Indemnitee and the parties' relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.



The Company and Indemnitee agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 3(c) were determined by pro rata or per capita allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in the immediately preceding paragraph. In connection with the registration of the Company's securities, in no event shall an Indemnitee be required to contribute any amount under this Section 3(c) in excess of the lesser of (i) that proportion of the total of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities indemnified against equal to the proportion of the total securities sold under such registration statement which is being sold by Indemnitee or (ii) the proceeds received by Indemnitee from its sale of se ...