No BlackBerry plan needed for BlackBerry 10 services
The new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone will not need a subscription to a BlackBerry-specific data package to use services such as BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) that run over “BlackBerry Infrastructure”.
Previously BlackBerry users would have to subscribe to a BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) package to be able to connect to BlackBerry’s network.
The company recently explained that BlackBerry 10 is a completely new experience that is different from the BIS available on BlackBerry OS 7 (and older) 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.
During recent hands-on time with the BlackBerry Z10 it appeared as though the device was connecting to BlackBerry Infrastructure on a normal 8ta pre-paid data bundle.
Partial BlackBerry 10 screenshot, showing an active BlackBerry network connection in top right
This connection is represented by an icon in the form of the BlackBerry logo that appears next to the “3G” indicator, similar to older BlackBerry devices.
It was confirmed that it would still be possible to connect to BlackBerry Infrastructure in this way when the Z10 launches in South Africa.
This means that users who have off-contract pre-orders for the BlackBerry Z10 will be able to use the normal data bundles on offer from South Africa’s mobile networks should there be no attractive BlackBerry-specific option.
More BlackBerry news
BlackBerry Z10 SA pricing revealed
New BlackBerry packages: what you need to know
BIS deals won’t vanish overnight: BlackBerry
BlackBerry 10 in SA: operators respond
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