O2 Ireland first operator in Europe to launch Napster Mobile

O2 Ireland first to offer Napster music downloads on mobile

Initial O2 Ireland/Napster Mobile on i-mode, with general availability to follow in early 2007

Issued Tuesday 12 December 2006. O2 Ireland became the first mobile operator in Europe to offer Napster Mobile with the launch today of Napster Mobile on 3G i-mode handsets. O2 Ireland customers with non i-mode handsets will also be able to avail of the Napster service by March 2007 on O2 Active. Napster Mobile is a hosted service from Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), and Ericsson will host and manage the operation of the service for O2 Ireland under a managed services agreement.

"We are delighted to be the first mobile operator in Europe to launch Napster Mobile. The Napster brand is instantly recognisable as one of the world's biggest music brands with 2.2 million tracks available immediately for our i-mode customers. Our customers have asked us for on-line music brands and we are delighted to provide the Napster catalogue as part of our i-mode service. The Napster announcement today forms part of an overall music strategy, coordinated closely with the Director of Music in Telefonica," said Gerry McQuaid, Commercial Director, O2 Ireland. Napster Mobile will allow O2 Ireland customers to search, browse, preview and purchase content from Napster's immense music catalogue of over two million songs. From the beginning of next year O2 Ireland customers will also be able to access a copy of their mobile downloads on their personal computers giving them the flexibility of having their music downloads both on the go and at the PC, all from one universally recognised music brand.

Brad Duea, president of Napster, comments "We are incredibly excited to be partnering with O2 Ireland on the European launch of Napster Mobile and are confident that the mobile service will prove as successful as its online counterpart. With over two million available tracks Napster mobile gives music fans the freedom to explore the biggest mobile music catalogue whenever and wherever they want, making it the perfect extension of Napster's existing service."

The new Napster Mobile service also features a recommendation engine which makes content recommendations based on each customer's personal taste in music. Napster Mobile from O2 Ireland will give customers access to Napster's expert programming on the handset, including featured artists and top tracks of the day.

John Hennessy, Country Manager, Ericsson Ireland said "We believe O2 Ireland customers will find this service very accessible and easy to use. Our hosting model makes this service easy, fast and cost-efficient for operators like O2 Ireland to launch the service."

For further information please contact:

Diarmuid O'Neill
O2 Ireland
086 8542255

Nuala Buttner
Q4PR
085-1744275

About O2
O2, part of the Telefonica Group, comprises mobile network operators in the UK and Ireland, along with integrated fixed/mobile businesses in Germany and the Czech Republic. It also owns 50% of the Tesco Mobile and Tchibo Mobilfunk joint venture businesses in the UK and Germany respectively as well as having 100% ownership of Be, a leading UK fixed broadband provider. In addition, the group includes O2 Airwave, which supplies secure digital communications to the emergency services and other public safety organisations.

In Ireland O2 is a leading provider of mobile services, offering communications solutions to 1.6 million customers in Ireland. With offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, O2 Ireland has a total workforce of over 1,700 employees. In 2006, O2 Ireland was named the best company to work for in Ireland and one of the 10 best companies to work for in Europe.

About Ericsson's Managed Services offering
Ericsson has the telecom industry's most comprehensive managed services offerings, ranging from designing, building, operating and managing day-to-day operations of a customer's network, to hosting service applications and enablers, as well as providing network coverage and capacity on demand. As the undisputed leader in managed services, Ericsson has officially announced more than 100 managed services contracts with operators worldwide since 2002. In all current managed services contracts, excluding hosting, Ericsson is managing networks that together serve 80 million subscribers worldwide.

About Napster
Napster, the biggest brand in digital music, is a subscription service that enables fans to freely sample the world's largest and most diverse online collection of music and move an unlimited amount of songs to compatible portable audio players. Napster (www.napster.com) members have access to songs from the major labels and hundreds of independents and have more ways to discover, share and acquire new music and old favorites with community features like the ability to email tracks to friends and browse other members' collections. Napster also offers Napster Light, a "lighter" version of the service for those who just want to purchase songs and albums a la carte. Napster is now available in the United States, Canada, Germany and the U.K. and is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in New York, London, Frankfurt and Tokyo.

Source: O2