Ericsson partners with Napster to bring music to mobile phones

Telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson and the Internet music downloading service Napster announced today a partnership to offer an integrated digital music service for mobile operators.

The service will allow mobile operators to develop opportunities for personalized digital entertainment on the mobile phone and personal computers and will also encompass ring tones, master tones, and video content, Ericsson said in a statement.

Napster’s brand, catalog, label relationships, programming, PC and

portable offerings will be combined with Ericsson’s operator

relationships, wireless development, integration, hosting, deployment

and support and IPX charging system, Ericsson said.

The announcement follows news earlier this week that Sony Ericsson unveiled several mobile phones, including a 3G high-data speed phone that offers enhanced features such as video conferencing, music and games. Ericsson is pursuing an ambitious program to develop phones that handle increasingly diverse features.

“With Napster we are uniquely positioned to deliver the easy to use, complete suite of music offerings our customers are asking for,” Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, said in a statement.

“We gain access to the biggest digital music brand in the world and

exposure to the largest music catalog available, which will not only

increase our customer’s consumer offerings and revenues but

substantially strengthen their own brand image as well,” Svanberg said.

The service is scheduled to start in Europe during the next 12 months and will initially be offered to operators in selected markets in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and North America, Ericsson said.

The new service will support coordinated wireless and PC downloading

of digital music in both subscription and a la carte models, and

phone-based initiation will ensure convenient and easy music library

access for both mobile and PC usage, Ericsson said.

The service scales to current handset models and networks but can

also accommodate next-generation technology for newer handsets on

higher-speed networks and is designed to work on mobile phones from

all major manufacturers that support content protected by digital

rights management.

The platform delivers a complete digital music solution

under one brand via a consistent user interface and with billing

consolidated by mobile operators.