"The launch of MusicStation heralds the next generation mobile music experience for the hundreds of millions of mobile phone subscribers worldwide who want a simple, easy-to-use digital music experience," chief executive Rob Lewis said.
"MusicStation will give users of any music-capable mobile phone the ability to legally access, download and enjoy an unlimited amount of music, from a global music catalog supported by the music industry."
Omnifone said it signed partnerships with 23 mobile network operators with a customer base of 690 million subscribers in 40 countries.
The first major operators include Norway's Telenor ASA and South Africa's Vodacom.
Another four networks will be launched in Western Europe and in Asia and the Pacific between April and June. The company said its service would be available in Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Lewis said the aim is to get the service to customers before the planned European introduction of the iPhone in November. "We will ensure the vast majority of Europeans have the freedom to choose MusicStation by the time iPhone arrives in Europe," he said.
The service works by letting users search for, download, and play music on their cellphones and sync it with their personal computer to create playlists that can be shared with other MusicStation users.
Unlike the iPhone, Lewis said, the service downloads music over the air across a data network, meaning users can have instant access to new music.
The tracks will include digital rights management to limit unauthorized copying.
