|
NEW DELHI: The Research In Motion (RIM), designer of the BlackBerry wireless handheld device, targets to add 10 mobile operators in the Asia-Pacific region in the next 12 months.
Norm W.K.Lo, vice president, Asia Pacific, RIM said, there are currently around 28 carriers in the APAC region and 10 more operators will be added to launch the BlackBerry handsets. “There are around 10 mobile operators we are in talks with and in the next 12 months time we are targeting to offer our handsets through them,” Lo said.
However, the company aims to increase its mobile operator base from the current 200 to 300 in one year.
Currently, RIM offers its BlackBerry in India exclusively through Airtel and is not available in the open market. Among the targeted 10 mobile operators, there could be one more operator within a year, but Lo refused to divulge more information on it.
Denying partnering with any other operator Lo said that he is “not in a position to comment at the present stage.”
On the subscriber base, Gregory Wade, director, Asia Pacific, RIM, said that the current BlackBerry subscriber base stands at 5.5 million at the end of Q1 (June 3, 2006). The company has set a target of seven lakh subscriber base in the end of Q2.
The company today launched the BlackBerry 7130g handset in India with Airtel. Working on EDGE and GPRS networks, the new handset offers push-based e-mail, phone, text messaging, browser, organiser and other mobile applications.
“The new handset is an exciting addition to the BlackBerry portfolio in India. Together with the comprehensive and powerful platform, this new handset delivers an all-in-one solution with a unique experience,” Lo added.
|
