BlackBerry on MTNL in Mumbai
BlackBerry on MTNL has become a reality in Mumbai with the launch of Blackberry services by MTNL in the city. Government-owned MTNL today announced that it will launch three models of BlackBerrys in Mumbai on its network – BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve 8310 and the BlackBerry 8700g.
With the BlackBerry service launch, MTNL becomes the latest GSM mobile phone operator after Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and BPL Mobile to introduce BlackBerry services in Mumbai.
Among CDMA operators, both Tata Indicom and Reliance Communications already offer BlackBerry services in Mumbai.
MTNL users with BlackBerry mobile phones will be able to make use of blackberry Internet services and BlackBerry Enterprise services. In BlackBerry Internet services, users will be able to configure and access up to ten email accounts including popular mail services like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail etc. In BlackBerry Enerprise services, users will be able to access their corporate email on their BlackBerry phones.
Said Frenny Bawa, Vice President, India at Research In Motion: “We are pleased to announce our partnership with MTNL in order to expand the adoption of BlackBerry products and services in Mumbai. MTNL has a strong history of serving customers in India and we look forward to working together to enable enhanced communications, productivity and flexibility for both businesses and consumers.”
The introduction of BlackBerry services by MTNL, though delayed, is a welcome step. More and more users are signing up for BlackBerry smartphones to access internet, email, instant message and so on. The BlackBerry launch on its network will help MTNL capitalise on the interest in BlackBerry phones. However, it needs pointing out that MTNL has a limited choice of BlackBerrys on offer. BlackBerry Bold, the latest from the MTNL line-up, is at least a year old, and the clunky 8700g, though highly reliable, is not the stuff you would like to show off at a party. This is in the backdrop of leading mobile telephony operators like Airtel and Vodafone bringing the latest BlackBerrys like the BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Pearl and the BlackBerry 8830.
Said MTNL ED J Gopal: “MTNL has been consistently focused on offering the latest technology and services to its customers. Our strategic collaboration with RIM to offer BlackBerry services to our customers takes us a step forward in this endeavour. The availability of BlackBerry services and smartphones on MTNL’s network in Mumbai will offer customers mobile access to information and applications to help simplify their lives.”