TWM launches BlackBerry service

Taiwan Mobile (TWM), one of the top three operators of mobile communication services in Taiwan, on December 20 announced the launch of BlackBerry services for a monthly fee ranging from NT$899 (US$28) to NT$1,799. The company will initially offer the BlackBerry 7290 and 8700g handsets for sale at NT$7,990 (US$245) and NT$12,990, respectively.

For NT$899 a month, a subscriber of the service can transfer up to 2MB (megabytes) of data with additional data transfers charged NT$0.15 per KB (kilobyte), according to TWM. The NT$1,799 plan allows for unlimited data transfer, noted the company.

For overseas roaming, TWM's BlackBerry subscribers can enjoy the following discount rates: 40% off in the seven countries that are members of the Bridge Mobile Alliance, of which TWM is a member; 20% off in the US for T-Mobile users and 50% off for Cingular users; in China, NT$0.23 discounted per KB for users of China Mobile.

Since there are currently only 2,000-3,000 BlackBerry handsets available, businesses will have priority over individual users to subscribe to BlackBerry for the time being, TWM president Harvey Chang pointed out. TWM expects to have 10,000 BlackBerry subscribers in 1-1.5 years, Chang said.

Taiwan market: TWM launches BlackBerry service