Nokia ventures into content deal with Orascom Telecoms

Orascom Telecom and Nokia have signed an agreement to make Nokia's mobile content platform, Ovi, available to Orascom's 74 million customers in Africa and the Middle East.

The agreement stipulates that Nokia devices will provide access to select Internet services, such as Nokia Maps, Nokia N-Gage and music, with more services to follow.

"Orascom Telecom has consistently proved its ability to successfully roll out leading-edge mobile services," said Orascom chairman and CEO Naguib Sawiris. "[The agreement] will allow us to bring to the market innovative services that will truly improve the mobile experience of our customers."

"This collaboration is an important step in creating Internet services that are easy to use, as we are constantly looking for new ways to offer consumers a great variety of experiences that they can choose from," added Timo Ihamuotila, executive vice president of sales for Nokia. "With Nokia N-Gage, for example, consumers can easily find, try and buy the best in mobile games with a range of innovative, made-for-mobile titles."

The agreement is expected to pave the way for integrating devices and services for the two companies.

Orascom operates GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) networks in Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe.