TRA decision to suspend BlackBerry services from October 11 is final: official

Abu Dhabi: The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority's (TRA) decision to suspend certain BlackBerry services from October 11, 2010, is final, a senior TRA official told WAM in a statement on Wednesday.

Moahmmed Al Ghanem, director general, TRA, added that "we remain open to discussions in order that an acceptable, regulatory-compliant solution might be developed and applied."

du offers customers multiple packages

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, known by its brand name du, will offer its BlackBerry customers multiple packages to enable them to switch to other smartphone models from September 1, without losing the functionalities of the BlackBerry, Chief Executive Osman Sultan said.

The plans range from Dh130 to Dh260 per month, and discounts are available on annual subscriptions. Du will also give its Blackberry customers discounts ranging from Dh1, 500 to Dh2, 500 on smart and high end phones, including the Apple iPhone 4.

These offers will be withdrawn if the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority reaches an agreement with BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion on access to users’ data.

Sultan said he does not foresee an impact on du’s profitability from the ban that TRA wants to impose on certain BlackBerry services from October 11. He did not disclose how many BlackBerry subscribers his company has.

Etisalat offers alternative options

Etisalat will provide free smartphones to their existing BlackBerry customers, officials announced on Tuesday. 

The offer is part of alternative packages unveiled by the telecom giant in response to the proposed suspension of BlackBerry services by the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) from October 11.

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The offer will be available only to BlackBerry customers who subscribed to the services as of July 31, a day before the TRA announced the suspension. The new packages offer bundled services such as SMS and MMS as well as mobile internet data services, senior etisalat officials said at a press conference in the capital.

"To obtain free smart phones, the customers need not give their BlackBerry devices to etisalat," said Khalifa Hassan Al Shamsi, etisalat's senior vice president of marketing.

In order to get a new smartphone for free with no upfront payment, customers must sign a 12-month contract for the new package, he said.

The basic package includes 1,000 local and international SMS and MMS messages and mobile data packages.

Officials did not reveal the exact date from which the customers could apply to migrate from the existing package to the alternative.

Free phones

This means they get a completely new and modern device at no upfront cost and at similar or lower monthly fee, the official said.

The free phones will be given away to customers based on the data packages they were subscribed to.

Customers have been divided into three tiers.

Subscribers of the most expensive data packages such as the unlimited global package costing Dh295, will be able to choose from high-end smartphones like the iPhone.

Smartphone devices to be offered are: Nokia E72; Sony Ericsson X10; Mini Sony Ericsson X10; Mini Nokia E66; Sony Ericsson Vivaz; Nokia N900; Nokia N97; Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro; Sony Ericsson Satio; Samsung Wave; Samsung Galaxy S; and the iPhone.

Those who do not want the free smartphones can take advantage of local voice calls up to 550 minutes.

"Our first priority was to develop a package which will ensure a seamless migration for existing BlackBerry customers to the new etisalat alternative packages on October 11," Al Shamsi said.

A subscriber to etisalat's Unlimited Global Service who used to pay Dh295 per month will benefit from a Dh35 reduction in tariff as he/she will have to pay only Dh260 per month, which includes 1,000 local and international SMS and MMS messages, unlimited local data downloads and 10MB of roaming data.

"These services have an equivalent monetary value of up to Dh2,500 per month," said Al Shamsi.

Alternative packages

The alternative packages offer substantial customer value, more than 10 times the value of the monthly subscription, he said.

The new packages are powered by etisalat's latest 3.5G mobile broadband technologies.

Customers will now be able to download data at up to 21Mbps depending on the handset.

The BlackBerry devices will be just another mobile phone without its mobility features such as instant emails, messenger and web browsing from October 11.

Meanwhile, in case the impending ban is withdrawn following a settlement between TRA and BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) the alternative packages will become valid, Al Shamsi clarified.

Connections still active

Etisalat has not stopped activating new BlackBerry connections following the TRA announcement it will suspend them from October 11, Khalifa Hassan Al Shamsi, etisalat's senior vice president of marketing said.

"But we are not activating the service over SMS requests from customers. Instead we ask them to visit etisalat business centres so that our staff can explain the new situation before activating," he said.

The official said customers must sign an undertaking that they are aware of the ban. New customers [who subscribe after July 31] will not be eligible for the alternative package, Al Shamsi said.

Etisalat officials said that their new packages offering more value for money will help retain customers.

Declining to reveal the financial burden on etisalat for the alternative package, Al Shamsi said: "The new packages were designed not to satisfy customers but to delight customers. This [the money spent on alternative package] is not a loss. The loss comes when we lose the existing customers."

"BlackBerry users are our highly valued customers. Most of them have been subscribing to many other services for more than 20 years," he said.

The official said the company wanted to retain the highly valued customer base by providing attractive alternative package, without bothering the financial burden.

Base Package - replacement package including data, SMS, MMS, roaming data etc with no yearly commitment

• Add on option 1 - free handset with no upfront cost with 1 year contract
• Add on - option 2 - free local minutes monthly for one year

 * Audio supplied by Radio 2

Base package from etisalat

Add on packages