Airtel makes BlackBerry Services More Affordable with New Airtel Bundle for BlackBerry

By Airtel

Lagos Nigeria; June 14, 2011: Leading Telecommunications Services provider, Airtel Nigeria is reshaping the highly competitive mobile telephony landscape as it announces the introduction of a new Bundle of services for its BlackBerry subscribers in line with its commitment to create innovative and affordable data offerings for telecoms consumers across the country.


According to the company, the new Airtel Bundle for Blackberry services will enable customers enjoy affordable internet service, strengthen friendship bonds and create an exciting platforms for customers to build social networks and improve on their financial profiles.

The Airtel Bundle for BlackBerry is available on monthly, weekly and daily subscription plans. Monthly subscription for the service is offered at N1, 580.00 (One Thousand Five Hundred and Eighty Naira). The daily and weekly subscription rates are N120 (One Hundred and Twenty Naira) and N475 (Four Hundred and Seventy-Five Naira) respectively.

The Airtel Bundle for BlackBerry services come with two separate offerings catering for either Social Networking enthusiasts or heavy Email messaging users.

Speaking on the service, Airtel's Chief Operating Officer & Executive Director, Deepak Srivastava said the introduction is in sync with the company's commitment to offering Nigerians an exciting mobile communication experience as well as providing access to latest technology solutions that help customers improve on their personal effectiveness.

Srivastava added: “At Airtel, we do not want people to just own BlackBerry phones but to enjoy the very best experience at affordable rates. We are determined in our quest to enable Blackberry phone users enjoy the best experience that is why we have introduced this carefully researched Blackberry offering.

“Indeed, our offering is based on our understanding of current and emerging consumer insights and trends. Our new services will give customers who want data solutions for business or social purposes increased access at very affordable rates while also addressing the ever growing communication need of staying constantly in touch with family, friends and business associates in a convenient and cost-effective manner.”

The Airtel Bundle for Blackberry Social option is designed for heavy users of social media including Facebook, twitter and instant messaging (IM) such as Google Talk and Yahoo Messenger with no desire to access to emails or the internet on their devices. The Social option is available at attractive subscription fees.

The Airtel Bundle for BlackBerry Messaging option on the other hand is designed for users who have a need for heavy email and instant messaging (IM) services but with no desire to access social media or the internet on their devices.

Customers have the flexibility of subscribing to the services through SMS and USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) strings. Customers who prefer to subscribe via SMS to the daily bundle Social option should send the word Socialday to the short code '440' while those who prefer to activate the service through USSD are to dial *440*333# to connect to the plan.

Those who prefer to subscribe to the service weekly should SMS the word Socialweek to short code 440 and for USSD *440*222# for while those for the monthly subscription should send Socialmonth to the same code 440 or USSD option *440*333#.

For customers who opt for the Messaging option can subscribe via SMS send the keyword Messageday to short code 440 while USSD preferred customers should type in *440*666# on their systems. Weekly subscribers are expected to SMS the word Messageweek to 440 and dial *440*555# for the USSD option.

Subscribers who prefer the monthly subscription for the Messaging option are to send the keyword Messagemonth also to 440 while the USSD users should are expected to dial *440*444# for a full month usage.

To further delight customers on the service, Srivastava further revealed, Airtel has set aside one month free subscription for customers during the first month as well as N100 worth of SMS messages.

In addition, postpaid Customers can walk-in to an Airtel Shop or Call Customer Service Delivery to request activation for any of the various BlackBerry services.

Also, new customers can purchase from a pool of BlackBerry 9300 and 8520 in red and black variants and will enjoy warranty and timely after-sales support.

The new Airtel Bundle for BlackBerry is available to all Airtel customers and can be obtained for N120.00 for daily subscription, N475.00 for Weekly subscription and N1, 580.00 for monthly subscription.

The launch of the Blackberry Bundle offer further establishes Airtel as a pioneer in driving affordability and innovation in the Nigerian telecommunications industry.