Canadian BlackBerry Sells in China

Expatriates living in China should receive RIM's approved BlackBerrys and other popular email devices in time for Christmas this year.

Since 2002, Research In Motion (RIM) has experienced many delays from Chinese regulators empowered to approve sale of RIM's BlackBerry in the People's Republic.

RIM, based in the Canadian city of Waterloo near Toronto, has partnered with international telecommunications giant Alcatel-Lucent. This partnership gives RIM a gateway to the requisite Chinese infrastructure and distribution networks key to selling a complete set of wireless email services customized for the People's Republic market.

Previously, most expatriates would buy BlackBerrys outside of China which would then be run on a network for which they weren't designed. That same cohort of expatriates is expected to propel demand for approved BlackBerry technology customized for Chinese systems.

France's Alcatel-Lucent has achieved certification to sell the BlackBerry 8700 model in China via a joint agreement with TCL Communications, a major Chinese mobile device maker that also markets Alcatel's branded mobile handsets.

Partners RIM and Alcatel-Lucent jointly announced that the first BlackBerry shipments to China should be in the hands of business customers by this Christmas.