The Hurdle Jumping of Ovi

 In a press release on Tuesday of this week, Nokia announced a newly forged relationship with Telefónica, a Spanish telecommunications company and cellular service provider. The co-operative efforts are said to include areas of menu customization, technology and billing co-operation. This is pretty big news and I would have to imagine a great hurdle for Nokia to clear for its plans with Ovi- not to mention a completely new way of thinking from the cellular provider camp as cellular providers begin to see the value of Ovi with regards to their own interests.

While many other providers are all but declaring war on Nokia after learning of their converged services portal, Telefónica has apparently seen Ovi as an opportunity to showcase their services and the potential to sell more data plans. Cellular providers have a decent history of rejecting and battling Nokia on new technology, unable to show vision for the future and embrace advancements made by handset manufacturers. Look at WiFi for example- a certain US provider seems to have a propensity for either crippling Nokia devices by demanding their wifi be deactivated, or refusing to offer new devices on their network with such technology. Really?  Can’t any potential be seen for profit based on establishing strong wifi coverage and selling access to the network? What about VOIP- no profit can be imagined by offering a VOIP plan? Cellular providers should be embracing the potential for synergy that these technological advancements are creating for them, not battling them head on. This is exactly what Telefónica is doing- they’ve had the foresight to partner with Nokia to allow their customers to take advantage of their mobile broadband network to access services from both Nokia and their own offerings- as well as third-parties. Julio Linares, General Manager for Coordination, Business Development and Synergies, Telefónica S.A. sees this as an opportunity to provide an unparalleled mobile experience by working with Nokia, not against them.

Is the beginning of a bright future for Ovi? Has the door been opened for cellular providers to realize the potential for partnering with Nokia on this project? How can this do anything but benefit both parties- who are  extremely excited about the collaboration and see it as a way for both to co-exist and a new way of thinking and working throughout the industry. I’m pretty excited and hopeful that more carriers will follow suit and instead of battling Nokia on Ovi, will become partners in the future of mobile services. Certainly providers in North America must see the value in the potential increase of subscriptions to data plans- where unlimited access is more common than elsewhere in the globe.

The mobile industry is changing, and it's time the cellular providers start changing with it.

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OVI great vision of future
written by TB, October 13, 2007

I belive Telefonica have done one real good deal , The company has a significant presence in 24 countries and a customer base that amounts more than 212 million accesses around the world. Telefonica has a strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America, where the company focuses an important part of its growth strategy.

And with Nokias over 900 miilion Nokia devis purchaser it only can be right. I belive many operators will follow Telefonicas example .
You'll be able to access the important things in your life, wherever your life takes you. And do it all in one place - from your mobile device, PC, or internet.

With OVI it be real good to use mobile device for your entertainment like Games , Photos ,Videos ,Music and ofcorse GPS maps .
This things i belive operators shud know and thats what people want .

I hope the "big" operators in world will follow Telefonicas great example.

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written by PseudoFinn, October 13, 2007

Yeah- we can only hope that this is just a glimpse of what's to come from the carriers. They really need to find a way to work together in the industry, and this seems like the way.

I guess I didn't realize how big Telefonica is... thanks for that insight. All the more exciting now!

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TB - OVI great vision of futur
written by TB, October 14, 2007

Yes this is a big deal ,only in EuropeTelefónica O2 Europe plc comprises mobile network operators in the UK, Ireland and Slovakia, along with integrated fixed/mobile businesses in Germany and the Czech Republic - all of which use ‘O2’ as their consumer brand. In addition, O2 has established the Tesco Mobile and Tchibo Mobilfunk joint venture businesses in the UK and Germany respectively. O2 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telefónica S.A

http://www.telefonica.es/acercadetelefonica/eng/index.shtml

http://www.o2.com/

as I say before , I hope other operators follow Telefonica like , AT&T, Roger,Fido in North America and Vodafone etc or maybee all shall move to Telefonica

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O2 supports Nokia\'s multimedi
written by CurraHee, October 15, 2007

O2 supports Nokia's multimedia move
11:29AM Mon 15 October 2007

O2 is supporting Nokia's move into multimedia on mobiles with a new partnership designed to accelerate the adoption of new internet services.

The collaboration, with O2's parent company Telefónica, includes areas such as menu customisation, technology and billing co-operation. Both O2 and Nokia services will exist together on devices.

The first Nokia devices with access to internet music and games services are expected to hit the market later this year.

The deal means that Nseries internet phones will feature Telefónica's mobile broadband network, as well as Nokia's music services, gaming and navigation facilities. O2 customers will be able to choose whether they want to buy services from Telefónica or download a song from the Nokia Music Store.

Nokia last month introduced Ovi, its new internet services brand name. Ovi, meaning 'door' in Finnish, enables consumers to easily access their existing social network, communities and content, as well as acting as a gateway to Nokia services including Nokia Music Store, N-Gage and Nokia Maps.

An O2 spokesman said: 'The Nokia partnership further enhances our converged-services strategy by enriching the customer's mobile internet experience. Partnerships like this are key and, as recent history will show, we excel at forging partnerships with leading-edge players like Nokia, Apple, Yahoo!, Flickr, Facebook and YouTube. [These] have been critical in maintaining our position as the UK's number one network.'

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written by PseudoFinn, October 17, 2007

That's good news, CH- real good to hear.

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