BlackBerry is getting a boost from its longtime partner Telefonica. The global carrier has made a commitment to buy roughly $200 million worth of smartphones, services and solutions from the struggling Canadian firm. Canada’s Export Development Bank is incentivizing Telefonica with a $200 million working capital facility.
“EDC’s financing is really about making the transactions between BlackBerry and Telefónica easier, helping to enhance and broaden the relationship between these two major global players,” said EDC’s Lewis Megaw.
Telefonica has an interest in BlackBerry’s survival; the two companies have been working together on mobile payments initiatives for almost two years. Telefonica has said that it values the security of the BlackBerry platform when it comes to mobile payments.
The credit facility provided by Canada’s EDC can be used for purchases of services and solutions as well as handsets. BlackBerry’s enterprise mobility management solution, BlackBerry Fusion, supports devices other than its own, as does its mobile payments solution.
BlackBerry’s commitment from Telefonica follows a show of support from device distributor Brightstar, which recently committed to purchase $1 million worth of hardware from BlackBerry. The companies have not said exactly what Brighstar is buying or when it will take delivery.
BlackBerry launched its Z10 touchscreen smartphone this year, and will follow it up with the Q10, which will feature a keypad similar to the one that BlackBerry’s installed base of customers uses now. Both devices feature the new BB10 operating system, which enables users to securely separate work content from personal content.
In the U.S., the Z10 is offered by AT&T and Verizon Wireless for $200 with a contract, although Amazon Wireless has already undercut that price. T-Mobile USA also offers the Z10 on its Simple Choice plan.
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