Subscribe

Bye-bye BIS?

Bonnie Tubbs
By Bonnie Tubbs, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 22 Jan 2013
Industry speculation suggests BB10 will be minus the consumer hook South Africans are used to - unlimited data for R59 a month.
Industry speculation suggests BB10 will be minus the consumer hook South Africans are used to - unlimited data for R59 a month.

In what some say could spell the eventual demise of Research In Motion's (RIM's) smartphones in SA, rumour abounds that the BlackBerry consumer hook - flat-rate data plans - may become a thing of the past with the launch of BlackBerry 10 (BB10).

The industry speculation stems from the Canadian smartphone maker's need for different architecture to accommodate the new BB10 environment, which is steeped in applications. It suggests that users of BB10 will have to buy data bundles - as opposed to paying R59 for unlimited use of RIM's entire BlackBerry Internet Services (BIS) suite (as per the current status quo).

While RIM is reluctant to release any specifics prior to the 30 January BB10 launch, the company has already warned it will introduce a tiered structure, which - according to World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck - could well accommodate a combination of BIS/BES with data plans.

Combo plans

Goldstuck says, given the nature of BB10 - as a broad apps-oriented environment in which data use is likely to increase dramatically - "it would be surprising if [RIM] relied on the old architecture to process all data requests".

He says this has "deep implications" for RIM's traditional BIS and BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) services. "RIM has probably been wrestling with the issue of how to split out 'traditional' BIS and BES services from the array of new options that will become available to the user."

The best outcome, he says, would be a "combo data plan" that allows users to choose what they want from BIS (and for how much), and what they want from a data plan (and how much of it they want).

BlackBerry boon

Analysts point out that, due to other compelling features and the durable appeal of BlackBerry in SA, the exclusion of flat-rate data plans would not necessarily denote doom for RIM in the country.

Spiwe Chireka, senior analyst at IDC, notes the impact of BB10 on earlier versions is yet to be established. "Current devices will be around, running on the same platform as they have been prior to BB10. I would look at it the same as when a new version of iPhone or Samsung comes out, or when an upgrade to Android OS systems comes out; the previous versions do not necessarily become redundant."

Chireka says the "all you can eat" feature of BIS has been the device's main selling point, globally. "Such offerings have played a significant role in driving smartphone penetration in SA and are the reason why BlackBerry dominates the market."

Data from the Mobility 2012 study by World Wide Worx shows there are about 4.5 million BlackBerry users in SA, accounting for three-quarters of the local smartphone market and 18% of the mobile market as a whole. By comparison, in SA, Android is said to have just under a million users, while local iPhone user numbers are below 500 000.

Ample appeal

Goldstuck says the BlackBerry proposition has always been about a combination of offerings. "The R59 BIS is obviously at the heart of it, but on top of that you have the highly-efficient handling of data through the BlackBerry servers.

"From the enterprise point of view, that has provided a level of security that is still compelling across the world. From a network point of view, it has made BIS viable through pushing less data across their infrastructure than would otherwise have been the case. Then, from a user point of view, it has provided a superb e-mail experience, for those for whom e-mail remains core."

Finally - and significantly - says Goldstuck, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is one of the most user-friendly and appealing social apps in the world. He says the high take-up of BBM, and the extent to which it has created "BlackBerry families" of users, is an indication of its appeal.

"Can it build on that appeal to the extent that it outweighs dropping BIS? We will find out in the coming weeks."

Share