Airtel and RIM launch the BlackBerry solution in Seychelles |22 December 2008

The BlackBerry solution brings together smartphones, software and services to provide customers with easy wireless access to email, phone, calendar, web, multimedia and other mobile business and lifestyle applications. Airtel customers in Seychelles will now be able to enjoy the freedom and productivity benefits of using BlackBerry® smartphones to stay connected to people and information on the go.

Vinod Sud, Director and CEO of Telecom (Seychelles), expressed immense pleasure in bringing the BlackBerry solution to Seychelles, with the support of Bharti Airtel.  “Airtel is uniquely placed to serve the needs of the growing corporate market as well as local business people and entrepreneurs with a 3G network and global data roaming,” Mr Sud said.

Mark Guibert, Vice-President of Corporate Marketing at RIM added: “It is with great pleasure that RIM is working with Airtel to introduce the BlackBerry solution in Seychelles.  Millions of people around the world have chosen a BlackBerry smartphone to stay connected to colleagues, friends and family while they are on the move.”

At launch, Airtel will offer the BlackBerry® Curve 8320 smartphone which looks as great as it performs. It comes in a stylish and compact design with a large display, Wi-Fi® support, an expandable memory card slot, an easy-to-use QWERTY keyboard and an intuitive trackball navigation system. It also features a range of advanced multimedia capabilities – including desktop software that gives customers the ability to create MP3 music files from CDs, create play lists and automatically convert pictures, music and videos from a PC for playback on the smartphone – together with all the renowned communications features that have won praise for BlackBerry smartphones around the globe. In addition, it comes with a 2 megapixel camera, complete with digital zoom, built-in flash, self-portrait mirror and full screen viewfinder. Photos can be saved on the smartphone or shared easily and instantly by email, MMS or Instant Messaging. Photos can also be transferred over Bluetooth® or USB cable.
 
Airtel is offering BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for corporate customers and BlackBerry® Internet Service for smaller businesses and individual users: 

BlackBerry Enterprise Server is designed for organisations that manage their own email servers. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server software tightly integrates with IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® and uses advanced encryption and IT policy controls to enable secure, push-based wireless access to email and other corporate data.

BlackBerry Internet Service is designed for smaller businesses and individuals. It allows customers to access up to 10 supported corporate and personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts such as, Yahoo! Mail and Google Mail) from a single device.

Telecom (Seychelles) Limited popularly known as “Airtel” is the leading comprehensive telecommunications services providers with over 55% market share of mobile market in Seychelles.

It provides comprehensive telecommunications services such as Fixed Line Telephone, GSM Mobile telephony, wireless broadband with 3G GSM network, Ship to Shore Services Satellite telephony and a host of value added services including VSAT Services and International Gateway for International Traffic.

Airtel is the first and the only operator to provide 3G mobile services in Seychelles.
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications.