The licence that permits T-Mobile to sell BlackBerry products in the United States won’t be renewed this month, according to the Canadian smartphone company. Instead it will expire on 25th April 2014.
In February, T-Mobile US targeted BlackBerry users on its network with a financial incentive if they switched to an Apple iPhone 5s. After BlackBerry CEO John Chen described the offer as a “clearly inappropriate and ill-conceived marketing promotion”, T-Mobile followed it up with a second promotion that motivated BlackBerry customers to upgrade to a newer BlackBerry device.
However, despite Mr Chen initially saying he hoped to “find a way forward that allows us to serve our shared customers once again”, the commercial relationship between the two companies is now over.
BlackBerry is assuring customers on the T-Mobile network that they shouldn’t see any difference in their service or support.
Announcing the end of the T-Mobile partnership, John Chen said “BlackBerry has had a positive relationship with T-Mobile for many years. 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. We are deeply grateful to our loyal BlackBerry customers and will do everything in our power to provide continued support with your existing carrier or ensure a smooth transition to our other carrier partners.”