Apple vs. mobile carriers

Apple will soon be facing in the US, according to BusinessWeek. As widely expected, the publication says that Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and Cingular are expected to unveil services for downloading music directly to wireless phones later this year. "With innovative services and snazzier phones, the telecom players figure they can swipe a chunk of the digital music market that Apple cracked open with its iconic iPod. That sets the stage for a battle between two industries. On one side are Apple and the other tech players concentrated in Silicon Valley that see the computer as central to the future of music. On the other are telecom companies, from Finland to South Korea to the U.S., that think the mobile phone can become the center of this emerging world." Carriers are looking for direct-to-mobile downloads for about $2 per song, according to the report.

"The iPod is great," says Frank Nuovo, chief designer for Nokia, the world's largest handset maker. "But no one has a stranglehold. There's nothing that keeps the mobile phone from moving into that area."

Telecom companies have an advantage because they have an enormous installed base of 1.4 billion phones (compared with 10 million iPods) and easy accounting/payment system with a majority of their users--their cell phone bill. Also they can provide music anywhere, anytime via their mobile network; however, storage capacity and interface concerns are still concerns for mobile networks.

The report says that Apple has a rough start in working with wireless operators, noting that wireless networks such as Verizon and Sprint have balked at carrying the iPod phone because it would make iTunes the central download center and users would then sync the phone with their PC-based music collections. Mobile operators want customers to download directly to their phone, so they could become part of the revenue stream.

"It's hard for people in any industry to support something that cuts them out of potential future revenue streams," says Graeme Ferguson, director for global content development at Vo

by MacNN Staff