September 18, 2004
Club Nokia silences ring tones
Nokia, the world's largest supplier of mobile telephones, is to stop selling ring tones, graphics and java-based games in a move that reflects the changing balance of power in the mobile industry, reports The Miami Herald.
"The Finnish group has provided the products for downloading through its Club Nokia website since 2000 but the service has met with resistance from network operators who feared the handset maker was trying to compete for user revenues.
This has become an increasingly thorny issue as operators have attempted to increase their own income from non-voice services and build loyalty among subscribers.
Club Nokia has had little impact in the market for ring tones, globally estimated to be worth between $1.5bn-$3.5bn, but it has become a symbol of where the line should be drawn between operators and hardware suppliers.
Nokia denied the company ever wanted to challenge the operators. ''The intention was to be a market maker to show Nokia owners what they could get for their new colour and java phones,'' it said.
''Now there are thousands of providers and we don't need to do market making. We didn't see it as a core business for Nokia,'' the company said."
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