Nokia team up with mmO2 in messaging deal

Nokia has been chosen as the sole supplier of multimedia messaging service (MMS) solution to mmO2 across all its European territories, the company announced today.

The deal will allow consumers in Ireland, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, to send and receive text, images, graphics and sound blended into a single rich message.

Deliveries have already begun and the service is expected to be launched during October 2002.

Customers with MMS-enabled handsets will be able to compose their own multimedia message, comprising a mix of personal photographs, pictures, sound recordings as well as text and send it to another mobile or email address.

They will also be able to access the O2 portal to download images from a photo album and image bank. A range of multimedia text alerts covering sport, entertainment, gossip, news, travel and weather will also be offered.

"Nokia believes that the appeal of MMS services and devices will drive the uptake of GPRS medium-speed mobile data connections, resulting in important new revenue streams for both operators and content providers," said Peter Kuhne, Vice President, Global Account Management, Nokia Networks.

"MMS will greatly enhance existing text messaging (or ‘SMS’) services and will revolutionise the mobile communications market as it evolves towards 3G services. We are delighted to be working with mmO2 to make this a reality," he adds.

mmO2 has 100% ownership of mobile network operators in four countries - the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland - as well as a leading mobile internet portal business.

All of these businesses have now been re-branded as O2. Additionally, the company has operations on the Isle of Man (Manx Telecom).