BIS deals won’t vanish overnight: BlackBerry
BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) deals for older BlackBerry smartphones will remain available in South Africa, BlackBerry recently told MyBroadband.
“BlackBerry OS 7 will co-exist alongside BlackBerry 10 in South Africa, Africa, and around the world,” the Canadian smartphone-maker added.
The company explained that BlackBerry 10 is “a completely new and unique mobile computing experience” that is different from the BIS available on BlackBerry OS 7 smartphones.
“Our carrier partners own the proposition in market and will make pricing and availability announcements in the coming weeks for BlackBerry Z10,” BlackBerry said.
This is in line with earlier information we’ve received from industry sources, 8ta, and BlackBerry itself.
Rory O’Neill
VP of product & channel marketing for EMEA at BlackBerry, Rory O’Neill explained that BlackBerry 10 uses a combination of BlackBerry infrastructure (BIS) and operator infrastructure to deliver the “BlackBerry experience”.
8ta’s statement revealed that the subscription charges they paid on BIS will fall away with the BlackBerry 10 operating system, “enabling mobile networks to package unique offers to consumers.”
While it is now well established that BlackBerry 10 data deals will be different from existing BIS packages in South Africa, neither BlackBerry nor the mobile network operators have been willing to say what the packages will look like exactly.
There is some speculation, however, that even if BB10 data bundles get a usage limit, secure services that use BlackBerry architecture such as BlackBerry Messenger will continue to work when the cap is depleted.
BlackBerry Z10 press shot
More BlackBerry 10 news
BIS and BlackBerry 10 explained
BlackBerry 10 device prices and launch dates
BlackBerry 10 BIS changes in SA confirmed
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