Research in Motion (RIM), makers of BlackBerry devices, has announced that they will not charge any service fee from those who do not want extra level of security. This announcement came soon after RIM announced that it lost subscribers for the first time in the latest quarter, as the global number of BlackBerry users dipped to 79 million.
RIM’ s chief executive officer, Thorsten Heins, said during a conference call with the investors, “Only subscribers who want enhanced security will pay fees under the new system.”
He added, “The mix in level of service fees will change going forward and will be under pressure over the next years during this transition.”
This move will hit the revenues of RIM which currently makes on an average $6 (Rs 330) per phone per month, but it will make BlackBerry service and data rates much cheaper for its consumers.
The new revenue model will come in force post the BlackBerry 10 platform (OS) launch on 30th January next year.
The move is likely to push the devices adoption rate amongst those who do not buy it for official reasons. BlackBerry will help itself in a big way if it can attract college students to its fold, who might then want to carry the experience to the office also where BlackBerry can charge them for offering more secure communication.