Etisalat becomes Ovi partner

Etisalat and Nokia have announced a joint collaboration to provide access to advanced mobile Internet based services. These services include maps, navigation and games on Nokia devices, based on the Ovi services platform provided by Nokia.

Left: Urpo Karjalainen, senior vice president, operator sales, Nokia; right: Essa Al Haddad, Etisalat’s chief marketing officer

In the first phase of the collaboration, Etisalat’s UAE mobile customers will be able to access Ovi Maps and N-Gage games on their Nokia devices, through straight forward payment mechanism. Subscribers to Ovi Maps and purchasers of N-Gage games can choose to combine their payments for these advanced mobile Internet based services with their Etisalat account. The payment will be directed to their account automatically, if chosen accordingly, while customers will also have the existing option of paying over their credit cards.

The UAE will be the first country in the Middle East and Africa to roll out this service during Q209, while the cooperation will be extended to other Etisalat operations in the Middle East and Africa in due course.

“We are excited to be further promoting our good cooperation with Etisalat. As market leaders, this agreement allows us to combine great services with ease of accessibility to provide consumers with a seamless user experience,” said Urpo Karjalainen, senior vice president, operator sales, Nokia.

Ovi allows easy access to Nokia services including maps, navigation, games, messaging and music, as well as the ability to manage, sync, and share personal files or information.

Ovi, the consumer brand for Nokia Internet services, brings together the online world, the mobile device and computer into a consistent consumer experience.