BT shakes on BlackBerry service with Vodafone

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 17 Nov 2004 at 23:38

BT claims to have the first mobile virtual network deal to sell Research In Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry.

The BlackBerry email handheld has become increasingly popular, with shipments showing 356.6 per cent growth year on year, taking 20 per cent of the global handheld market, according to analysts Gartner.

It offers a live connection to a user's email account and other corporate services, so they don't have to manually initiate a connection to check for new mail.

BT's position as a mobile virtual network means that it doesn't own a mobile network of its own. It used to, but this was spun off into mmO2. July 2003 saw BT perform a swift about face announcing its return to the mobile scene, but this time it rented the mobile network from T-Mobile.

The new BlackBerry service, however, routes its calls over Vodafone's network, and users will be able to use their Blackberries wherever Vodafone has deals.

'Having access to both a fixed and mobile network is fundemental to BT's convergence strategy which will mean a single device can switch seamlessly between fixed and cellular networks, giving the customer the best connection and the same personalised services wherever they are,' said a spokesperson for the company.

However, the BlackBerry is not quite the convergent device BT is talking up. Nor is it the only way you can get one from BT: it already offers a BT managed BlackBerry service through its Global Services division.

So what's new? '[It] allows BT Mobile to offer BlackBerry services to customers in the UK on the back of the MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator] deal with Vodafone. BT now has a direct trading agreement with Research in Motion and will be supplying BT Branded BlackBerries to their customers. BT Mobile's MVNO BlackBerry could be a component in a Global Managed BlackBerry and Global Services will look to use the BT Mobile MVNO BlackBerry for UK based customers,' said the spokesperson.

In short, the Vodafone pan-European deal allows it to cut out negotiating with a range of suppliers and operators in the various territories.

But whether or not having the 'mobile virtual network deal' matters probably depends on whether you want to deal with separate companies for fixed and mobile services and Vodafone will happily sell you a BlackBerry over its 'real' network, as will mmO2 on its - ertswhile BT's - network.

The BT BlackBerry will be available from 19 November from £35 per month per subscriber, with hardware starting at £189. Customers will also need to buy BlackBerry Enterprise software and Client Access licenses on a per subscriber basis.