The largest Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA) mobile network in Nigeria, Visafone Communications, has again
become the first CDMA network to offer BlackBerry smartphones in the whole of
Middle East, Europe and Africa.
DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that
Visafone Communications in partnership with Research In Motion (RIM) launched
three brands of BlackBerry smartphones; Bold 9930, Curve 9310 and Curve 9370 respectively,
which are to be made available from October 29th, 2012.
Speaking at the formal launch of the devices
in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of Visafone Communications, Mr. Srinivasa
said that the partnership with RIM brings the wide range of smartphones on
demand by the Nigerian market, especially BlackBerry.
He also said the unique selling point
of the company in terms of the BlackBerry devices and its after sales services
is the company’s flagship shops which numbered up to 88 across the nation. And
the rating of the company by the government’s regulatory agency, the Nigerian
Communications Commission as the number one in terms of quality of service.
“The moment is here to ping on Visafone
network,” he declared.
Also speaking, RIM Regional Director
for East, Central and West Africa, Mr. Waldi Wepener revealed that RIM chose to
add Visafone to its list of partners in the country as a result of Visafone’s
good quality of service.
Wepener further disclosed that RIM
presently has 5 partners in Nigeria including Visafone as the only CDMA network
on the list. He expressed RIM’s pride in supporting Visafone with the launch of
BlackBerry solutions to their existing and new customers across the nation.
“BlackBerry solution from Visafone offers
customers a strong selection of smartphones and a wide range of services that
connects them to people and information,” Wepener said.
According to Wepener, the BlackBerry
Bold 9930 on Visafone has a high performance keyboard, a 5.0 megapixel camera
with a responsive high-resolution touch screen and Wi-Fi as its special
features while the Curve 9310, a 3.2megapixel with an inbuilt FM radio. The
Curve 9370 has an optical trackpad for easy and one-hand navigation with
inbuilt GPS and Wi-Fi support.
The three devices, like any other
BlackBerry devices allow users to easily interact with their social network in
real time. They can also support external storage memory expansion up to 32 GB.
The Chairman of Visafone, Mr. Jim Ovia
in his address said the network has an amazing call rate alongside its
supersonic data experience, and that users of Visafone BlackBerry can roam
everywhere in the world which is going to give users an edge.
“This launch is a major boost to the
NCC’s efforts to achieve growth of data usage and quality of services to
Nigerian,” Ovia said, that the partnership denotes a big step forward in the
continent’s mobile history.
Ovia equally said that Visafone has the
right strategies in place that would enable to the company to operate in the
future, urging the general public to support the merger of telecommunications
companies.
According to him, merging of
telecommunications companies does not imply that all is not well with either of
the parties.
Visafone has some records to its name,
from being the first network operator to have 1 million subscribers in 6 months
on inception to also being the first to get 2 million subscribers in 9 months
in the nation.
Visafone
is also the first telecommunications company to be Open Market Handset (OMH)
compliant and the first to offer prepaid and postpaid roaming opportunity
across Africa.
Remmy Nweke & Yinka Awosanya
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D
