15 October 2008

UK's smallest network To Offer
Nokia’s Comes With Music Handset On Contract

Moconews and Reuters report that that UK's smallest network has signed a deal with and will offer ambitious Nokia's Comes With Music service with a monthly contract starting next month, in the package with the Nokia N95 8GB Smartphone!

Nokia has struggled to get the country’s big four operators, Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile and Orange to offer its Comes With Music handsets and Nokia just takes the next logical step by inviting the 3. Although it is country’s smallest mobile operator, UK regulator Ofcom estimates that 'Three' has four million subscribers and therefore it is not surprise that Nokia is trying to involve the 3 into the CWM network!

The service would obviously get more traction if it got the distribution through the carriers, especially if it were offered though a monthly contract with a handset subsidy, but the operators are reportedly wary of CWM cannibalizing their own music offerings.

Hutchison Whampoa-owned 3, however, would be more willing to take the chance to see if the handset could lure more subscribers. , while Orange, the UK’s fourth largest network has nearly four times as many. However, both Nokia and Three have declined to comment on the story.