Alltel Wireless announced Thursday that it had inked a deal with XM Satellite Radio to make some of the radio company's music channels available to its customers. Using software developed by mobile media content provider MobiTV, Alltel subscribers will be able to listen to streaming content from 20 of XM's more popular channels--among them are '80s music, indie rock, country and Latin pop.
The service will cost Alltel subscribers $7.99 per month; a subscription to XM's regular satellite radio service is not required. This is not Alltel's first move toward making its service more media-rich. Recently, the wireless provider entered an agreement with podcasting site Melodeo to make podcasts searchable and streamable via Alltel's Axcess media platform.