BlackBerry has announced today that it has entered into a long-term licensing deal with TCL. The Canadian giant will license its security software and service suite along with BlackBerry name, logo and other related brand assets to TCL Communication, while the latter will design, manufacture, sell and provide customer support for BlackBerry-branded mobile devices.
The deal also states that TCL will serve as a global distributor and there will be a dedicated team to handle logistics, sales and publicity of BlackBerry-branded devices. The two recently launched devices, BlackBerry DTEK50 and DTEK60 were the re-branded versions of TCL handsets. The mid-range BlackBerry DTEK50 is actually the Alcatel Idol 4, while the DTEK60 is based on Idol 4s. Alcatel is a joint venture between TCL and Alcatel-Lucent.
“TCL Communication is the natural choice to license BlackBerry’s software and brand on a global scale. We successfully partnered with them on the DTEK series of secure smartphones and we’ve been impressed with their excellence in hardware design, development and manufacturing. With our unparalleled expertise in mobile security and software and TCL Communication’s vast global reach and consumer access, we are confident that BlackBerry-branded products developed and distributed by TCL Communication will address the needs of BlackBerry users and expand the availability of BlackBerry Secure products throughout the world,” said Ralph Pini, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Mobility Solutions at BlackBerry.
The deal will give TCL exclusive rights to sell the future BlackBerry products around the globe except India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia. It is reported that BlackBerry is working on a deal with an Indian company, however, there isn’t much details available on this development.