Beijing. June 24. INTERFAX-CHINA - China Telecom is testing Research in Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry handsets with its mobile network and is preparing to launch BlackBerry service bundles aimed at enterprises and government bodies, a source at China Telecom told Interfax on June 23, despite earlier denials by the two companies that China Telecom would be launching BlackBerry services in China.
"China Telecom entered into talks with RIM at the beginning of the year. The two parties have so far agreed on a number of fundamental areas," the source in China Telecom's business strategy department said.
In March this year, both RIM and China Telecom scotched rumors that the two were negotiating over China Telecom operating BlackBerry services in China.
The source said China Telecom is testing the compatibility and performance of BlackBerry handsets and services with its CDMA network. In key cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, the operator has begun to establish support systems to enable BlackBerry services to be offered via its network, the source said.
"The BlackBerry is no less popular than the iPhone in North America, where it also uses CDMA networks," the source said.
In August 2007, RIM cooperated with China Mobile to bring BlackBerry services to China. However, business development has been slow. According to statistics from TCL Corp., the manufacturer of China Mobile's BlackBerry 8700g, it shipped just 9,000 BlackBerry handsets in China between its first shipment in November 2007 and May 2008.
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