10Meters News Service

January 21, 2002 – If "The William Tell Overture" is getting on your nerves, just wait until you hear what a Seattle company has in store.

Called Over-The-Air Wireless, the company this week launched its "advanced" ringtone service that will give cell-phone users the ability to download licks from the latest pop, hip-hop and R&B hits to their handsets.

Over-The-Air Wireless is marketing its propietary delivery technology and its catalog of copyrighted tunes to carriers and to customers, who can either sell the ringtones online or use them for promotional purposes, according to the company.

"In the past, ringtones have been poor quality, decreasing the customer's incentive to download," said Over-The-Air Wireless CEO Rick Hennessey. "We use proprietary technology as a competitive advantage. Once people compare the quality of our ringtones, wireless delivery methods and overall service to any other in the market, the decision to work with [us] is easy."

The company has license agreements with music publishers to distribute digitized versions of music to wireless phones as ringtones. Its service includes handling copyright and royalty payments, and it handles billing procedures.

Ringtones are delivered to mobile phones using SMS technology, now available in the U.S. market.

In August, Over-The-Air Wireless signed an agreement with Sony/ATV Publishing for music rights to produce ringtones from its storehouse of titles, which spans hits by the Beatles and Destiny's Child to jazz great Charlie Parker, country's Garth Brooks and R&B's Aretha Franklin.

For more information, visit Over-The-Air Wireless at www.otawireless.com.