The battle for BlackBerry in Cyprus: Cytamobile vs. MTN

Two months after private mobile operator MTN introduced the BlackBerry to Cyprus, state-owned Cytamobile has launched its own package through its partnership with Vodafone with two smartphones on offer.

Cytamobile-Vodafone wants users to buy the Pearl 8100 at CYP 199 (EUR 340) or the Curve 8310 at CYP 239 (EUR 408,35) and offers the BlackBerry Enterprise Server for corporate use or the Internet Service for smaller businesses and individual users.

Cytamobile’s Petros Charalambous of the Product Development service said that as Cytamobile is a Vodafone partner network, Cyprus-based Blackberry users are now switching to local accounts and utilising the lower charges for international roaming in 130 Vodafone networks with GPRS and/or 3G, as opposed to maintaining overseas accounts and roaming in Cyprus.

Charalambous asaid that Cytamobile now offers two business solution products – the BlackBerry and the Windows Mobile Email.

He added that Cytamobile should have some more announcements to make regarding its network and infrastructure by summer that will enhance the corporate user and the professional on the move.

The state-owned telco’s announcement follows the early-October launch of the BlackBerry platform on alternative mobile operator MTN, that was selling the Pearl 8100 and the Curve 8300 for the same price, but carried a price tag of CYP 205,85 (EUR 350,75) if the user was a corporate or CYP 228.85 (EUR 391) for individual or small-business use.

MTN hopes to target some 2,000 corporate users in Cyprus who want easy access to e-mail, phone, calendar, web, multimedia and corporate data applications on the go over its 3G/2.5G network or in any of the 50 markets where it has roaming agreements, including most of Europe, Lebanon, the UAE and South Africa.

MTN has worked with Research In Motion (RIM) to introduce the BlackBerry platform to Cyprus, as well as in Nigeria and South Africa, while Vodafone offers BlackBerry roaming in 70 markets with 130 networks.