Research In Motion Limited today announced an agreement with Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong) Limited to provide the BlackBerry wireless email solution to corporate customers in Hong Kong, making Hutchison Telecom the first mobileoperator to offer BlackBerry in Asia. Hutchison Telecom is the leading mobile
operator with the largest subscriber base in Hong Kong of 1.7 million
customers. With this partnership, Hutchison Telecom will offer BlackBerry
Wireless Handhelds with associated software and service in Hong Kong. The
handhelds will operate on Hutchison Telecom's GSM/GPRS network, marketed under the "Orange" brand name.
"As the largest mobile operator in Hong Kong with superb network quality
and the most innovative services, Hutchison Telecom has established a leading
position in the corporate and business mobile market by delivering the best
available technology and solutions to our customers," said Agnes Nardi,
Managing Director of Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong) Limited. "We are
pleased to be the first mobile operator in Asia to deploy this advanced
wireless enterprise solution. In collaboration with Research In Motion
Limited, we have devoted concerted efforts to integrate the BlackBerry system
with our robust GPRS data service platform, allowing our customers to enjoy
easy and affordable access to corporate email and other important company
information anytime anywhere in Hong Kong, and while roaming overseas. We have
conducted extensive network interoperability testing with the BlackBerry
infrastructure in the last few months and we are currently carrying out
customer trials in Hong Kong. The partnership with RIM further demonstrates
our commitment to bring the most innovative services and add great value to
our customers' businesses."
"We are very pleased to work with Hutchison Telecom to bring BlackBerry
to Hong Kong for the first time," said Jim Balsillie, Chairman and Co-CEO at
Research In Motion. "We have developed the BlackBerry 5800 series based on
global technology standards such as Java and GPRS that allow us to bring
BlackBerry to new countries around the world while ensuring a common user
experience and a consistent degree of quality. We look forward to delivering
BlackBerry to a broad range of organizations in Hong Kong including many of
our existing multi-national customers."
BlackBerry is the first wireless solution that integrates voice and data
services while addressing both the needs of end users and IT departments.
Operating on Hutchison Telecom's Orange GSM Dualband network with its advanced
GPRS technology, BlackBerry is an end-to end enterprise solution comprised of
advanced wireless handhelds and enterprise server software, allowing corporate
users to manage their important information and communications from a single
wireless handheld with 'always on' operation, single mailbox integration with
existing corporate email accounts, end-to-end security and a 'push' based
architecture.
The BlackBerry 5820 Wireless Handheld features built-in email, phone,
SMS, browser and organizer applications. BlackBerry Enterprise Server software
enables easy configuration and management as well as back-end integration with
corporate systems and end-to-end security. Hutchison Telecom's Orange GSM
Dualband network and its leading-edge 2.5G high-speed data service provide
voice services and 'always on' connectivity for accessing data easily and
quickly.
BlackBerry was launched in North America in 1999 and Europe in 2001. RIM
has currently deployed or announced relationships with GSM/GPRS carriers in
the United States, Canada, the UK, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and
Italy. The BlackBerry 5820 handheld is designed to support GSM/GPRS (900 MHz
and 1800 MHz) networks in both Europe and Asia. The BlackBerry 5820 first
became available last fall in Europe. The BlackBerry 5810 was introduced at
Comdex Chicago and supports GSM/GPRS (1900 MHz) networks in North America.
Details of the supply agreement between RIM and Hutchison Telecom were
not disclosed. Further information regarding the availability, pricing and
launch of BlackBerry for Hutchison Telecom's GPRS network will be announced at
a later date.