Telefonica S.A. (NYSE:TEF) (MCE:TEF), a European telecom firm, has been approved for a loan of £170m by Canada to help it buy Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s products and services. The Blackberry maker can breath a sigh of relief that at least one telephone operator is helping revive Blackberry.
The loan was granted by Export Development Canada (EDC) to Telefonica S.A. (NYSE:TEF) (MCE:TEF), which according to the institution will “facilitate BlackBerry’s marketshare growth within Telefónica.” Loans like this, which enjoys the support of the Canadian government, are provided to the buyers to make them financially capable of buying quality products.
“…just makes the purchase [of phones and services] and related lending easier, quicker and more efficient for all parties,” the EDC said describing the loan. “There appears to be a need for financing for [Telefónica] at this time.”
Carphone Warehouse in UK has started a pre-registration section for Blackberry Q10 phone, which is expected to be available by May. Through the section, website will examine the interest of the consumer in the new flagship of Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). The Q10 will come with a keyboard unlike all touch Z10 of Blackberry.
The new Q10, which was launched along with Z10, will be a deciding factor in the success of Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) to retain its corporate clients, and also to bring back those who switched to another phone.
Last year the Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) lost 4 million customers to 76 million among the business and domestic class. The phone maker’s revenues were also on the decline. The Ontario-based mobile maker continues to rebuild itself after suffering a loss of £425m and decline in revenue by 40 percent.
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) will also shut its BBM music services due to its declining U.S. consumer base. The consumer base of Blackberry in the United States declined from 16.7 million to 7.6 million in January 2013 according to ComScore.
The BBM was music was started in August 2011 in which the users had to pay $5 per month to listen to 50 songs. Out of these 50 songs, the user could change 25 songs each month. The app further allowed the listeners to download the music from the playlists of other users.
Last month, Brightstar, which is distributing Blackberry handsets on behalf of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), ordered 1 million handsets sitting on software BB10. Brightstar will distribute the phones to “big box” retailer as well as to other outlets in the supermarkets. Telecom giant will have a minimum risk if the handsets didn’t do well and the sales declines.
