C&W stated that this important development will allow bmobile pre-paid customers to make phone calls, send and receive email, interact via social networking such as Facebook, browse the web (including the latest sports scores), send and receive pictures and much more using the BlackBerry wireless solution.

According to Yankee Group, pre-pay customers account for a large portion of the global mobile market, including approximately 83.5% of Latin America subscribers in 2007.

“Cable & Wireless introduction of a pre-paid option for BlackBerry Internet Service in the Caribbean is a significant step in extending the reach of BlackBerry smartphones to more consumers in the region,” said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion.

“Our customers through out the Caribbean have asked for this service and we are extremely proud to make the world of BlackBerry available to them. We are also excited to introduce this service to over 1.2 million of our pre-paid users, giving them the ability to stay connected to the Internet and stay in touch wherever they are for a low fixed price,” said Richard Dodd, Chief Executive Cable & Wireless Caribbean.

Cable & Wireless bmobile is leading the industry by providing a pre-paid BlackBerry Internet Service plan to its customers in the Caribbean.

Pre-paid customers subscribing to BlackBerry Internet Service can access up to 10 supported business and personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts) from their BlackBerry smartphone. Customers will also be able to select from a wide range of powerful BlackBerry smartphones, such as the BlackBerry Pearl 8120, BlackBerry Curve 8320 and BlackBerry 8820. All provide a renowned mobile experience for email, phone, messaging, web browsing, multimedia, organizer and other applications.

Pre-paid customers wanting to sign up for the BlackBerry Internet Service can do so by visiting a Cable & Wireless bmobile store. Customers who already own a BlackBerry smartphone just need to bring the device to a Cable & Wireless store to activate the service.

The introductory cost for BlackBerry Internet Service from Cable & Wireless is USD5 per week until 30th August 2008, after which the cost will be USD10 per week.