China Telecom to Offer BlackBerry Devices in China
China Telecom Corp. became the second Chinese mobile operator to sign a deal with Canada-based Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) to offer BlackBerry devices in the mainland, in a move that could help the telecommunications company gain competitiveness in the third-generation wireless market.
The company joins China Mobile Ltd. in offering BlackBerry devices. The agreement also could help China Telecom gain ground against China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., which offers Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhones.
China Telecom spokesman Jacky Yung said Monday the company is working out the practical arrangements with RIM. It doesn’t have a timetable yet for when it will start offering the BlackBerry devices.
He also said the company is still in talks with Palm Inc. (PALM) to offer Palm’s handsets in the mainland.
