Napster and Ericsson Launch Mobile Music Service With Entel PCS in Chile -- First in Latin America
Napster (NASDAQ: NAPS) and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today announced the launch of the Napster Mobile music service with leading Chilean operator Entel PCS to provide the Napster Mobile music service in Latin America for the first time.
Napster Mobile is based on Ericsson's service delivery platform and will enable Entel PCS's subscribers to search, browse, preview and purchase content on their wireless handsets via i-shop, the Entel PCS Mobile Portal. The service features Napster's catalog of more than four million songs and mastertones, and offers a dual-delivery option for simultaneous downloads to subscribers' mobile phones and PCs. Hence, the service allows direct downloads to mobile phones, a unique feature, bypassing the PC-download stage to provide greater user convenience.
"We are excited to add Latin America to our global footprint, which also includes the North American, Japanese and European markets," said Brad Duea, President of Napster. "Through our partnership with Ericsson, we look forward to offering a superior mobile music experience to Entel PCS customers."
Under the agreement, Ericsson has end-to-end responsibility for systems integration, management of the day-to-day operations and development of the service. The agreement also includes content and digital rights management, enabling the operator to launch the service easily and cost efficiently.
Carlos RodrÃÂÂguez, Product and Services Manager of Entel PCS, said, "Once again, we are the first mobile operator of Latin America in launching a world-class service -- Napster Mobile. Ericsson's multimedia solution will help us meet our customers' growing demand for premium and personalized mobile content."
Gino Montalto, Head of Ericsson Chile, added, "This deal will enable access to a range of attractive services for end users and open up new revenue streams for Entel PCS. Our hosted solution allows the operator to remain focused on their core business while launching new services quickly and cost effectively."
About Entel PCS
Entel PCS is the mobile subsidiary of the Entel group, a leading telecommunications company in Chile. Since its creation in 1998, Entel PCS has been a competitive force in the area of mobile telephony, providing quality service, innovation and wide geographical coverage for areas such as Antarctica and Easter Island. Entel PCS has more than 5.5 million subscribers and was the first operator in Latin America to introduce GSM and GPRS services.
About Ericsson's managed services offering
Ericsson has the telecom industry's most comprehensive managed services offering. It ranges from designing, building, operating and managing day-to-day operations of a customer's network, including end-user services and business support systems, to hosting service applications and content, as well as providing network coverage and capacity on demand. As the undisputed leader in managed services, Ericsson has officially announced more than 100 managed services contracts with operators worldwide since 2002. In all current managed services contracts, excluding hosting, Ericsson is managing networks that together serve more than 185 million subscribers worldwide.
About Napster
Napster, the pioneer of digital music, offers the ultimate in interactive music experiences, creating better ways to discover, share, acquire and enjoy music -- anytime, anywhere. The company's offerings include "Napster" (www.Napster.com) -- the most popular, on-demand music subscription service in the world; "Freenapster" (www.freenapster.com), a unique Web experience offering free, on-demand music legally in the U.S.; and "Napster Mobile," one of the industry's fastest growing mobile music platforms, providing the premier mobile music experience for customers in ten global markets. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Napster's services are available in markets across North America, Europe and Japan.
Safe Harbor Statement
Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release, in particular matters related to Napster's relationship with Ericsson and wireless carriers and compatibility with mobile phones, are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties such as our limited operating history; failure to develop new products and services; flaws inherent in our products or services; decreased demand for our products and services; failure of our products to interoperate with the hardware products of our customers; the adoption of mobile platforms as a method of digital music purchase, including the rate of adoption of music-enabled mobile phones compatible with the Company's service offerings; intense and varied competition; failure to maintain relationships with strategic partners and content providers; and general economic conditions; that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Additional information on these and other factors are contained in Napster's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC on November 1, 2007, copies of which are available at the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Napster assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release.
Copyright © 2003-2008 Napster, LLC. Napster and the Napster logo are registered trademarks of Napster, LLC in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are owned by their respective owners.
