In order to make the Blackberry data services affordable and available to their subscribers, MTN Rwanda has introduced prepaid Blackberry data services.

Yvonne Manzi Makolo, MTN’s Senior Marketing Executive said that the service will allow prepaid subscribers on the operator’s network to enjoy the benefits of staying connected to people and information on the go.

"The service is the same as the one enjoyed by post-paid customers. But for pre-paid subscribers, the subscription period is 30 days.  After 30 days a customer can continue with the services after  subscribing for an extension,” Makolo explained.

The service is provided by Research in Motion (RIM), the holding company for the Blackberry brand and allows Blackberry users to access unlimited internet and direct access to web email accounts.

Makolo said that the monthly subscription cost is Rwf30,000 and additional costs will be incurred when the customer uses their data service while roaming.

"A customer must have a minimum balance of Rwf30,000 to subscribe to the service and for a subscriber to extend his/her subscription dial *347*30,000#,” She explained.

Blackberry data services were introduced in the country early last year by MTN Rwanda, making it the only mobile operator in the country to offer that product. 

Makolo also said that to make the services affordable to everyone, MTN has cut prices of the handsets. The Blackberry Curve 8320 has been reduced to Rwf200,000 from Rwf300,000 while the Blackberry Curve 8520 was reduced to Rwf270,000 from Rwf400,000.

The Blackberry helps to provide automatic delivery of emails with their attachments in addition to helping one to manage his/her contacts and calendar.

Meanwhile MTN entered a deal with Aradial, a global provider of AAA, to provide Internet Protocol services and others including Wi-Fi, WiMAX, wireline Internet, VoIP, IPTV and mobile data).

Official say that with the technology, MTN Rwanda will be able to offer better Internet connectivity to its customers, increasing its profitability while eliminating the overhead associated with customer provisioning, authorization and accounting.

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