Verizon Wireless president and CEO Denny Strigl said Tuesday at a Yankee Group conference that his company will be rolling out an online music service  within the next six to eight months.
The effort is part of a larger program undertaken by the company to expand its broadband wireless coverage area by the end of the year to cities that together represent half of the population of the U.S.
"He did not talk about this issue in his prepared comments," Verizon Wireless spokesperson Jeffrey Nelson said. But Nelson did confirm that Strigl spoke of the planned music offering in interviews after his speech.
Plans Under Wraps
"We intend and are working toward the launch of a service that would allow for full music on a mobile phone," Nelson said. Verizon Wireless has one phone is its handset lineup that will support music downloads, which will be available "in the next couple of months," he noted.
The online service itself, though, will take longer to work out. "It will not be available when the phone becomes available," Nelson noted. The company intends to remain tight-lipped about its plans until "the offering is all buttoned down."
Buttoning Down the Details
And there will be a lot of buttoning down to do, particularly if the maneuvering of other players in the music-downloading business is any indication.
Over recent months, the dominance of Apple's iTunes music service has been challenged by upstarts and long-time players in the online multimedia business.
Napster, for one, has introduced a subscription service that allows users unlimited listening for a monthly fee. In response, Internet giants such as Yahoo have joined the fray.
"We understand that there are a number of different ways that people manage their digital music," said Nelson. "We're taking all of that into consideration as we determine how the service will work."
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