lastminute.com lands 3 deal

Mobile operator 3 has signed a deal with lastminute.com that will allow travellers to search for and book holiday bargains using their mobile phones.

The new service will be hosted by lastminute.com and it is the first time content will be prepared and published on the 3 network independent of the operator itself.

3's customers will be able to browse lastminute.com for hotels, flights, restaurants and other leisure activities and then can press a button on their phone to get a direct link through to the online travel site's telephone sales staff if they want to book something. The service is included in 3's tariffs and the call is charged at normal rates.

The aim of the service is to encourage 3 customers to take advantage of last minute special offers and weekend breaks from places they would not normally be able to search the internet – such as heading home in a taxi.

Andrew Windsor, group commercial director at lastminute.com, said in a statement: "Customers make impulse decisions all the time and now we have the deals and functionality to allow them to make the most of the lastminute.com service from their mobile phones."

Graeme Oxby, marketing director at 3, told silicon.com the partnership is the latest in the operator's plan to offer a wide range of content to users.

"It is about providing a big portfolio of content. I'm not sure I buy into the concept of a single killer application," he said.

Earlier this year 3's parent company Hutchison signed a deal with Playboy to give customers access to 13 million photos and 2,000 hours of video programming.

Oxby would not disclose figures for customer take-up of the 3 network in the UK but said the company was pleased with the amount of demand since pricing was revised to make it more competitive.