LoneStar Launches BlackBerry

Lonestar Cell MTN, a leading telecommunications service provider in Liberia, and Research in Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, Thursday launched the BlackBerry solution for customers here.

The BlackBerry solution brings together smart phones, software and services to allow easy wireless access to email, messaging, social networking, phone, calendar, web, multimedia and other business and lifestyle applications.

Lonestar Cell MTN subscribers will now be able to enjoy the freedom and productivity benefits of using BlackBerry smart phones to stay connected to the people and information that matter most to them while on the go.

Mr. Tebogo Mogapi, CEO of Lonestar Cell MTN speaking at the launch said: “Lonestar Cell MTN brings the BlackBerry solution to Liberia in response to the demand from our customers. We will be offering a range of quality BlackBerry smart phones, service plans for consumers and business customers, as well as exciting services like BlackBerry Messenger.”

Waldi Wepener, regional director for RIM in East, Central, and West Africa said: “We are proud to support the growth of the Liberian mobile industry with the introduction of BlackBerry smart phones and services for consumers and business customers. Our partnership with Lonestar Cell MTN demonstrates RIM’s commitment to working with our carrier partners to bring the best of BlackBerry to mobile customers in Africa.”

At the launch, Lonestar Cell MTN offered the BlackBerry Curve 9360 and the BlackBerry Bold 9900 smart phones along with two service options – BlackBerry Enterprise Server for corporate customers and BlackBerry Internet Service, marketed as BlackBerry Absolute Plan, for small businesses and individual customers.

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

The BlackBerry Absolute Plan is designed for small businesses and individuals. It allows customers to access BlackBerry data services, including access to the Internet, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), popular social networking sites (including Face book and Twitter), the BlackBerry App World store front, and up to 10 supported corporate and personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts such as Yahoo! Mail and Google Mail) from a BlackBerry smart phone.

Also speaking at the program, Deputy Information Minister Norris Tweh praised the company for providing the service to Liberia. He re-affirmed government’s commitment to working with all companies in the country that will help improve the lives of the people.