MTN Rwanda has confirmed the termination of services provided to devices that use the BlackBerry operating system effective January 4, 2022. The outdated devices include BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry 7.1 Operating System, and BlackBerry PlayBook 2.1 OS and earlier software as well as other related services. Applications such as BlackBerry Link, BlackBerry Desktop Manager, and BlackBerry Blend will also have limited functionality. The decision comes after the mobile company, BlackBerry Limited, announced that devices running these legacy services and software through either carrier or Wi-Fi connections will no longer reliably function, including for data, voice calls, Short Messaging Services (SMS). Edwin Vita, Device Coordinator at MTN Rwanda, however, said that devices that use BlackBerry android will continue working. The Telco serves 3,000 customers who use the BlackBerry OS. Of these, a thousand were postpaid customers and two thousand were the usual clients (prepaid), Vita said. Vita said that they have provided an alternative for customers, whereby they can go to any MTN service centre and trade-in the device, and the customer can top up on its value to get any other smartphone of their choice, this is at a five per cent discount. The replacement option will only be available until the termination date, and the telco will refund for unused data, he added. In 2016, BlackBerry Executive Chairman and CEO John Chen announced that the company’s transition to a software company was complete, adding that they are focused on providing intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. BlackBerry mobile phones and other gadgets were introduced in Rwanda in 2008.
