Nokia seeks Apple-style cut in handset revenues

Dec 9, 2007, 14:15 GMT

Hamburg - Nokia, the world's biggest maker of mobile telephones, plans to imitate Apple and seek a cut in user revenues generated by its future devices, according to the Finnish group's chief on Sunday.

Interviewed by the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo confirmed the company had an eye on network operators' charges for new data-based services.

'When it involves mobile phones, we'll be staying with our existing business model, which means getting paid for the device itself. But where we provide new services, a turnover share is entirely possible,' he said.

Major providers have voiced fears that Apple's business model for its new iPhone - an iPod with mobile phone and wireless data capabilities - may encourage other makers to demand a cut in user revenues.

Nokia has a world market share of nearly 40 per cent.

US-based manufacturer Apple has never confirmed the share of revenues it is receiving in the four nations where the iPhone is sold, but German industry figures say the rate is about 30 per cent of what Telekom nets from the users.

Nokia has sought to position itself as an inventor of new services. Several days ago it unveiled Comes With Music, a service on certain phones that can download titles from the Universal Music catalogue for one year.

Nokia has also built up a multimedia platform, Ovi, for vendors to sell music and games.