By Gordon French
Caribbean Net News Guyana Correspondent
Email: gordon@caribbeannetnews.com
GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee has challenged Digicel and the makers of BlackBerry, Research In Motion (RIM) to engage in a partnership with Government to enhance national security.
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| Guyana Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee |
The challenge was thrown out during a VIP party on Tuesday evening, held to celebrate Digicel’s introduction of BlackBerry service in Guyana.
In his remarks, Rohee congratulated Digicel on the launch of BlackBerry services just over three months after the launch of the Digicel brand in Guyana. He emphasised the importance government is placing in the telecommunication arena and the significance of the service in terms of national security.
“We in the government have absolutely no doubt that the introduction of BlackBerry service is good for the economy and especially in respect of our trust towards modernized telecommunications networks and systems,” Rohee stated.
He said that Digicel has brought robust competition to the Guyana market, noting that the inclusion of BlackBerry in their range of products and services will certainly add attractiveness to Guyana’s investment space.
According to Rohee, the real-time communications solutions provided by BlackBerry service are also vital for the development of our trade and commerce and for competitiveness in our economy.
He noted that ICT development is a significant component of Government’s broader national development agenda to transform the economic and social landscape of Guyana.
“The introduction of this service would allow for seamless communication between visitors, be they investors, or otherwise, with their principals or other stakeholders in Guyana and other capitals,” Rohee noted.
Digicel, considered the fastest growing mobile operator in the Caribbean, has partnered Research In Motion (RIM) to introduce BlackBerry wireless solution to Guyana as the latest addition to a range of services offered by the company.
RIM has been working with Digicel since 2005 to bring BlackBerry service to Digicel’s 22 markets worldwide to financial banks and military Government offices.
Digicel will be offering a suite of BlackBerry smartphones from RIM, including the highly successful BlackBerry Pearl, one of the lightest smartphones in the world.
Carrier Relationship Manager, Digicel Group, Lori Mulder, said that in the corporate space BlackBerry provides all the security and manageability demands.
“BlackBerry is always on, always connected. The service provides BlackBerry users with greater flexibility with their time…its about balancing your home life and your work life, yet being able to respond to customer demands in moments,” Mulder stated.
She explained that emails are pushed to the device as against what obtains now, where one has to dial up the Internet on their handset to access their emails.
This means that BlackBerry users they will not have to go through the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) Company Ltd., since data is not offered on the GSM network but in this case it will be offered on the handset. | 
