T-Mobile and Musicload are presenting their vision of the future of digital music distribution at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) (IFA Consumer Electronics fair) in Berlin. Their objective is to establish a common standard so music files can be shared easily between PCs and cell phones. Customers of legal download platforms are to be able to use the same music file on their PCs, cell phones and their digital players. This is based on the standard “Open Mobile Alliance Digital Rights Management 2.0″ (OMA DRM V2.0). According to the cooperation partners this new copy protection provides the music industry with new application models.

T-Mobile and Musicload have developed a cell phone and PC prototype in a research project with the Technology and Innovation unit of Deutsche Telekom as well as Deutsche Telekom Laboratories. The cooperation partners are showing how OMA DRM V2.0 can be used to easily transfer music files from one device to the next, regardless if the file was bought using a cell phone or on the PC at home. “The frontiers between mobile and Internet-based music distribution are disappearing,” explains Joachim Franz, Director of Product Development & Operations Musicload. “A standardized procedure to protect and manage digital content is the necessary precondition to overcome the current hurdles in usage perceived by customers,” adds Matthias SchrГ¶ter, Vice President Standards & Enabler at T-Mobile International.

The new copy protection was developed by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). This industry forum also defines technical specifications for the mobile communications market. “SMS text messaging is an excellent point in case to highlight overwhelming customer acceptance and the related commercial potential of open standards,” comments Matthias SchrГ¶ter. “The easier it is for customers to use a service, the greater the inclination to do so. This also applies to legal music distribution.”

Flexible use
Thanks to OMA DRM V2.0 customers can choose on which device they would like to listen to their protected songs. They can later extend the usage rights to other devices. “The rights are not related to the content. Therefore staggered price models for digital music are quite possible,” notes Joachim Franz. “Dad could download a song onto his PC and at the same time buy the rights for his daughter’s mobile phone.”

Customers as sales reps
Another advantage of the new copy protection procedure: Customers can share the music they have already bought legally with friends. They listen to the songs and then decide if they would like to purchase the full usage rights. Customers could then get a reward for every song recommended, e.g. a credit. “People mainly chat to friends about new music. This principle can be transferred to the digital world with super-distribution,” comments Susanne Krian, Director Marketing and Sales Musicload. “On top of that, we can considerably reduce the costs for sales and marketing. This explains why we believe that the new standard is sustainable.”

T-Mobile leads: Germany’s leading mobile communications provider won a clear majority in the network operators category of the “Digital Lifestyle Award 2006″ online survey. The “Digital Lifestyle Award” is the largest reader’s choice award in Europe in the area of digital entertainment, computers and electronic communications. The partners of the “Digital Lifestyle Award 2006″ are Internet media outlets CHIP Online, FOCUS Online, TOMORROW and Xonio.com, along with the IFA.

The winners of the vote received their recognition on the evening of September 1 at a function held at the Palais am Funkturm on the grounds of the IFA in Berlin. This year, six digital products and services were nominated in 22 categories dealing with Internet, mobile communications, entertainment and the world of IT.

2006 marks the second time in a row that T-Mobile has garnered the “Digital Lifestyle Award”. Last year as well, T-Mobile held its own against rivals for the favor of Web surfers. This spring, readers of special-interest magazine “connect” chose T-Mobile for the seventh time in a row as “Mobile Communications Network Operator of the Year”.

Less than seven months after the market launch, more than 700,000 customers are already enjoying the benefits of T-Mobile@home. This means that T-Mobile has exceeded its own targets for this service, which offers inexpensive mobile-phone calls at home and in a large area around it. In order to appeal to a wider clientele for T-Mobile@home, the mobile carrier is linking the offer with an attractive starter tariff called Basix. Furthermore, customers with the Max flat-rate tariff automatically receive a T-Mobile@home fixed-line phone number, so that they can be reached at cheap fixed-network rates within the T-Mobile@home area. The service is made even more convenient by the T-Mobile@home status display on the cell-phone screen and by two phone models that are especially suitable for use with T-Mobile@home.

Favorable option: T-Mobile@home
Mobile-phone calls to numbers in the German fixed network cost only four cents per minute for T-Mobile@home customers. This price applies for calls from their home and an area within a radius of two kilometers: their T-Mobile@home area. Within this area, users can be reached at a fixed-network number made available by T-Mobile – at fixed-network prices. One of the benefits for the customers is that T-Mobile@home gives them a lot more flexibility and freedom of movement compared to a cordless telephone. The T-Mobile@home option can be booked as an addition to the T-Mobile postpay contract. The Single version costs only EUR 4.95 a month. The T-Mobile@home Family & Friends version is tailored to the needs of families and other groups of people who live together. They can call each other within their joint T-Mobile@home area free of charge. Calls from the T-Mobile@home area to members who are outside this area cost only four cents per minute nationwide. An important component of T-Mobile@home Family & Friends is the HomePhone. This is a mobile phone that serves the Family & Friends group as “everyone’s phone” – it is also the control center, e.g. for call forwarding.

Basix – starter offer with T-Mobile@home
T-Mobile@home is already included in the Basix starter tariff at a monthly rental of only EUR 9.95. T-Mobile introduced this offer on August 1, 2006. Nationwide connections using Basix within the German fixed network outside the T-Mobile@home area cost nine cents per minute all day on national holidays and at weekends, and on weekdays from 20 hours to 7 hours. During the day on weekdays, the charge is 29 cents per minute. The charge for calls to the more than 30 million T-Mobile customers and to the Mobilbox is 29 cents per minute. Customers who sign a 24-month contract for Basix including T-Mobile@home can buy a new mobile phone from
EUR 1.

Max – flat rate with T-Mobile@home area
Max, the new flat-rate tariff, automatically includes a T-Mobile fixed-network phone number. Users in their T-Mobile@home area can thus be reached at fixed-network prices. For EUR 35 per month, the Max tariff includes unlimited mobile-phone calls to the German fixed network and the T-Mobile network (connections to special phone numbers are excluded). Thanks to T-Mobile@home, Max customers can be reached at fixed-line prices. This makes Max an interesting alternative to a fixed-network phone for T-Mobile customers.

Knowing when you’re “home”, convenient phones
Up to now, users have been able to tell whether their phone is inside the
T-Mobile@home area by means of an audio signal that can be heard while the connection is being made – or by inquiring using a key code. Now the status is immediately visible: a new program provided free-of-charge by
T-Mobile shows them when they are “home” – i.e. within the T-Mobile@home area – on the display. The software works with the latest generation of mobile cards and selected phone models – e.g. Motorola RAZR, Nokia 6230i and 6280 and Sony Ericsson W810i.

Two new models we recommend for T-Mobile@home – especially as the HomePhone – are the BenQ Siemens S68 and the Nokia 2610. A convenient battery-charging station is standard with both. In the case of the BenQ Siemens S68, both the charging station and the phone itself have an especially attractive design. The Nokia 2610, with its classical mobile-phone style, features MP3 ring tones and an integrated hands-free function.