AllTel Offers XM Radio to Mobile Users

Mobile network operator AllTel announced today it will offer XM satellite radio channels to its mobile phone customers.

Mobile phone operators are increasingly trying to diversify their service offerings away from voce-only service to bring in more revenue, and today Alltel took an interesting step in that direction, announcing it will offer channels from XM satellite radio to its mobile phone users for $7.99 a month.

According to AllTel, users will be able to select between 20 commercial-free XM music channels, including “decades” channels for music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, Top 20 hits, as well as channels featuring alternative rock, country, blues, Hip Hop, indie rock, and Latin pop. Users with compatible handsets will be able to select channels by genre, and view title, artist, and album information on their phones while listening.

“As consumers continue to turn their wireless phones into mobile entertainment hubs, Alltel Wireless continues to explore partnerships to build on our extensive portfolio of content,” said Frank O’Mara, AllTel’s executive vice president of sales and marketing in a statement. “Having America’s largest wireless network partner with America’s largest satellite radio provider was a natural fit, and we know our customers will enjoy XM’s stellar line-up of programming.”

Alltel is currently the fifth-ranked U.S. mobile phone operator with more than 11 million customers; third-ranked U.S. wireless operator Sprint has partnered with XM rival Sirius Satellite Radio to offers a similar package to its customers.