Not withstanding the controversy surrounding BlackBerry, hailed for
its push mail services, Reliance Communications (RCom) is close to
launching pre-paid BlackBerry services in the country. Meanwhile, the
other private private CDMA service provider Tata Teleservices Ltd
(TTSL) is gearing up to launch the services by the end of the year.
"RCom has already tested the viability of launching pre-paid
BlackBerry services on its network on all the six models available in
the country," sources close to the development told Business Standard.
At present, BlackBerry services are only available in the post-paid
mode, and with the launching pre-paid services will help subscribers
keep the usage under check.
When contacted a Reliance Communications spokesperson confirmed the
move, but declined to provide the date of the launch.
At present, four service providers – Bharati Airtel, Vodafone-Essar,
BPL Mobile and RCom – provide BlackBerry services in the country. BPL
Mobile has recently launched 'BlackBerry Connect', a service that
provides BlackBerry services without the need of a BlackBerry handset,
in the country.
BlackBerry is a product of Canadian firm Research In Motion (RIM) and
offers a patented service that provides wireless e-mails over mobile
phones. The e-mails are pushed on to the handsets the moment they are
received at the server, eliminating the need to connect to the web.
However, the service ran into trouble with the Union Home Ministry
seeking lawful interception of data transferred over the device. The
issue is yet to be resolved, RIM has assured the government of
resolving the issue.