Virgin Radio goes worldwide on 3G

Pricey in London, cheap in Bangkok

London-based Virgin Radio claimed to be the first station to offer its broadcasts over 3G today, though most UK listeners will probably stick to their trannies for now.

Anyone with a burning desire to listen to shows such as Rock and Roll Football or the imaginatively titled The Late Show can do so, anywhere in the world with a 3G or 2.5G connection, once they’ve downloaded client software developed by Sydus. Music to mobile developer Sydus will also supply back-end systems to Virgin.

But Virgin’s website warned 3G users that they could incur a cost for the service.

“If you've got an unlimited GPRS or 3G data connection, this is for you,” it says. At around 7.2M of data per hour of listening those without unlimited data ratses could quickly rack up “substantial” charges, it said, meaning the service would be most attractive in the US, India, Thailand, Singapore, China, Italy and Australia, where operators are bundling unlimited data use. No word on how the London weather and traffic report is likely to go down in Bangkok.

Virgin said it was working with phone companies to strike “special prices on radio listening”. The broadcaster said there are currently about 30 handsets that are compatible with the 3G player.®

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