Airtel has launched its Blackberry services in Rwanda with an assurance that the service will be part of its array of affordable products
Airtel country director for Rwanda, Marcelline Paluku, said the service was part of the company’s commitment to innovative products for public use, a move that has triggered companies like MTN and Tigo to slash their voice and data tariffs.
“Our experience in the global market has allowed us to rollout products in Rwanda, among which are the Blackberry services,” Paluku said.
Airtel has already registered more than 300,000 subscribers on its network in Rwanda.
Paluku revealed that the objective of making the Blackberry service available was to use these technologies to ease communication among Rwandans.
He explained, “Providing this service at lower prices than MTN and Tigo doesn’t mean that they are cheap, but instead they have been made available in a more affordable way by Airtel.”
Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Rwandan minister of youth and ICT, said that he was optimistic that the move by telecom companies to improve their technologies will help the country transform into a regional technology hub as it moved towards a service-based economy by 2020.
Nsengimana noted, “Having all telecom firms in the country provide Blackberry services and other technology-related products will make the country’s ICT sector go a notch higher.”
