BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) and T-Mobile are in ‘positive’ discussion over the return of the Canadian firms devices on the carriers network. The information of the discussion between the two was given by T-Mobile’s John Legere during an earnings call.
In ‘positive’ discussion
During the fourth-quarter earnings call, Legere was asked several questions over a range of matters including a question related to BlackBerry. Although Legere gave no specific details regarding the timeframe or guarantees, he did said that the companies are in discussion, and the company is optimistic on a possible partnership with BlackBerry. The term ‘positive’ discussion do suggest that at some point BlackBerry will make a comeback on the carrier, but timing is not known.
Both the companies know very well that there are a big number of BlackBerry fans on the carrier’s network. Last year, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSE:BB) and T-Mobile parted ways after CEO John Chen criticized the carrier for a loyalty program that asked BlackBerry users to switch to iPhones. Since then, Blackberry has not renewed its T-Mobile’s license, which expired on April 25.
At that time, Chen said “Regretfully, at this time, our strategies are not complementary, and we must act in the best interest of our BlackBerry customers. We hope to work with T-Mobile again in the future when our business strategies are aligned.”
Rising popularity of BlackBerry
In recent times, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSE:BB) has been able to somewhat come back on the growth track. Even though the iPhone and Android are far ahead of BlackBerry, its latest devices Passport and Classic are selling well among the enterprise. The new phones along with BES 12 presents a strong case for the Canadian firm.
As of now, in the U.S., BlackBerry Z10 and Z30 are offered by Verizon while Sprint offers Q10. AT&T will soon be offering the latest BlackBerry devices Passport and Classic.
Separately, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSE:BB) released a major software update on Thursday. The update allows all the Blackberry 10 devices such as Z10, Q10 and Z30 an access to the Android apps and various other features including Blend. According to the Canadian firm, the OS 10.3.1 will allow users to access both the BlackBerry World Appstore and the Amazon Appstore.
