Ericsson brings Napster Mobile for O2 UK

Ericsson and Napster have announced the largest European hosting contract for Napster Mobile, with O2 UK.

O2 UK’s customers will be able to search, browse, preview and purchase full-length tracks from Napster’s immense catalogue of over 5 mln tracks and play them on their mobile handsets and PCs.

The Napster Mobile service contains several sophisticated features, including a recommendation engine that makes content recommendations based upon each consumer’s musical taste, and dual delivery, a feature that sends a copy of the content purchased on the handset to the customer’s PC.

Under the hosting agreement Ericsson’s responsibilities include systems integration, operations, maintenance and content management of the Napster Mobile service for O2 UK. Hosting is a part of Ericsson’s Managed Services offering. It is a business model that ensures easy and cost-efficient launches of end user appealing services.

“We’re happy to see this second launch of Napster Mobile in the O2 group, following that of O2 Ireland in 2006. Music is an important area for telecom operators and we believe that O2 UK’s subscribers will find this a very attractive service. Napster Mobile combines the strength of Ericsson’s multimedia offering and hosted services capabilities,” said Jacqueline Hey, Managing Director, Ericsson UK.

O2 UK is part of Telefónica O2 Europe which comprises mobile network operators in the UK, Ireland and Slovakia along with integrated fixed / mobile businesses in Germany and the Czech Republic.  Telefónica O2 Europe also owns 50% of the Tesco Mobile and Tchibo Mobilfunk joint ventures in the UK and Germany as well as having 100% ownership of Be, a leading UK fixed broadband provider.