Orange threatens to sour Nokia's new music service

Mobile operator Orange UK has reportedly threatened to boycott Nokia's new music download service unless the handset giant agrees to consumer trials. According to The Independent, Nokia is planning a Wednesday news conference in London to detail plans for the new digital download platform--the conference is expected to spotlight the launch of a series of new devices, including two versions of the N81 (one with 8GB of storage capacity and the other with 1GB). In a memo obtained by The Independent, Orange threatens to refuse to offer the service unless Nokia agrees to an "open and transparent" handset trial.

Orange's proposal: Pitting the Nokia music service and the 8GB handset against the operator's own music download service, employing the 1GB variant. "If this proposal is not accepted, we will regrettably be forced to derange this handset," the memo says, adding that while Orange wants to source larges numbers of "the exclusive blue N81," it will work with other handset makers to fill the gap if Nokia refuses to comply. "We would expect a significant level of customer confusion and increased calls to customer services as a result of housing both players on a device and our data tariffs would be negatively impacted as they were not designed to deal with such large individual music files," the memo continues. "In short, if this was an Orange service, we would definitely not launch yet to protect our customer experience."

Orange established an Aug. 31 deadline for Nokia's response. Its demands are not without precedent: The operator worked closely with Sony Ericsson on development of its Walkman music handset. Orange officially declined comment on the memo or any plans to collaborate with Nokia in the music space.

For more on the Orange/Nokia drama:
- read this Independent article

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