Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)/Blackberry is expected to receive a large order from Telefonica, courtesy a sizeable loan from Export Development Canada. The export credit agency said it provided a €200 million loan to Telefonica S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TEF) (MCE:TEF) for the purpose of purchasing Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) Blackberry devices and services.
TechCrunch was one of the first to report the loan and pending order, which will cover 315.7 million subscribers in 24 different countries. Telefonica S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TEF) (MCE:TEF) is one of the largest mobile carriers in the world, so the capability for it to order so many devices from Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)/Blackberry provides an important boost for the company.
The company’s large network in emerging markets, especially Latin America, also provides an avenue for the BlackBerry maker to expand into those markets.
Emerging markets are perhaps the most important segment of the smartphone market because mature markets are already saturated with devices. Other emerging markets, like India, have already shown great interest in Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)/Blackberry’s devices. India especially has proven to be a strong market for the struggling handset maker.
In addition to Telefonica S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TEF) (MCE:TEF)’s sizeable order of BlackBerry devices, TechCrunch points out another reason the carrier will be especially motivated to sell the handsets. Bango, one of Telefonica’s most important partners, is BlackBerry’s billing partner in its app store. So the more BlackBerry handsets Telefonica can get out on the market, the more BlackBerry 10 apps will sell.
Export Development Canada has provided similar loans for Telefonica in the past as well, serving as a connection point between Canadian products and services and Telefonica’s markets.
