General BlackBerry® 10 Smartphone Functions and Features

[dave-willis-cc]

Hi all,

I'm really considering the Z10 but the only thing that is REALLY holding me back, is probably the one thing that a lot of people may be glad that they have gotten rid of and this is the BIS. I love the fact that you get unlimited data with it and also the fact that GiffGaff (UK Virtual Carrier) gives you 10MB per day when roaming. From what I understand from reading several blogs and reviews both of the Z10 and BB10 in general is that with BIS being phased out for BB10 you will no longer have to pay the premium but you will also no longer receive unlimited data and a roaming data allowance. I feel that BlackBerry should give you the choice of whether you want to subscribe to this feature or not. Not only does BIS provide you with unlimited data but it also encrypts everything that you do on the Internet. When you subscribe to BIS you don't utilise your carriers servers to connect to the Internet you use BlackBerry's and this is the reason why when the outage happened in 2011 no-one could use the net on BlackBerry, but this is something that everyone seemed to forget when this happened, BlackBerry are/were the only company to provide this service and provide this level of encryption.

I am a massive BlackBerry fan and this one thing is discouraging me from me from purchasing the Z10 and possibly future BlackBerry's, I think for a new-comer the lack of this feature wouldn't matter so much but, for us loyal users this is a MASSIVE step-back!

I would like to hear other peoples views and opinions on this change.

Regards,

Dave

[sdgardne]

Hello,

Well, it varies by market. For instance, where I am (in the USA), a BIS-plan can cost twice (or more) as much as a generic data plan from a carrier, and with none of the additional things that you mention -- no unlimited data, no 10MB roaming, etc. etc. etc.

It is the carriers who actually set their pricing along with what services they offer, and this includes what they provide to BIS users as well. BlackBerry does not control any of the access, pricing, or capabilities...the carriers do. So it will be up to the markets to decide what will happen.

It is an interesting change, but one that will perhaps allow many people in different markets to actually get a BlackBerry device where, before, the extra cost of the monthly plan made doing so prohibitive. But, in some markets it may well be that BB users have a lesser amount of actual service capabilities. The markets will do what they will do.

Good luck!

[jelp2]

I don't know about the BIS plan costing double vs standard data here in the US. A friend who has an Android device from VZ is paying the same amount / month as my BIS plan. If it comes down to the carriers decision to use or not use BIS, I won't hesitate for a second to switch providers to get it. The last thing I need to worry about nowadays is data usage. It's never crossed my mind in 5+ years.

[sdgardne]

It varies greatly by market. For instance, where I am, I can get (have, actually) a TM Droid on a pre-paid plan for US$30/month including 5GB data, 100 minutes voice, and unlimited SMS. The lowest cost BIS plan was right around (as I recall) US$60/month, with a much lower data cap...though I've seen that Simple Mobile now has a US$50 BIS plan.

As the carriers get themselves going for the BB10 market, it is going to be very interesting to see how they price their plans since there now will be no difference in plan between a BB10 device and, for example, a Droid, iPhone, or other SmartPhone that runs just fine on a "generic" data plan.

[ddch]

It is a sad day they dropped BIS for the Z10, what is interesting is that here in the UK, most of the carriers don't really specify the BIS side as an addon and an extra charge,  if I remeber T-Mobile did but that the cost of this was only a few pounds more than the average data plan.  Orange for example seems to absorb the cost centrally and their Smartphone plans cover all the smartphones there isnt one specific for Blackberry,  So obviously it is down to the Carrier.

[scopewizard]

Check this out,

It appears to me that BIS is supported but not transferred automatically.

I have found that many questions are answered in this toolkit.

http://www.troubleshootingtoolkit.com/Article.aspx?lang=1&id=255

Denis

[sdgardne]

Interesting article...from my read, it is not quite clear on the point, but from all that I understand, BB10 devices do not use BIS for email, calendar, or contacts (hence the need to manually configure email accounts into the BB10 device as part of a device switch). They have an on-device direct-access ActiveSync email client.

They continue to use BB ID and other BlackBerry-provided services (e.g., AppWorld and BB Protect, albeit with no data backup capability), but not BIS itself.

[scopewizard]

BIS is supported on Z10 but your ISP has to make it availabl. Blackberry from what I understand has made it available to carrier if they wish to provide it. This news was out a few months back. Blackberry changed the way the services is provided with their servers by providing multiple plans for BIS. As it stands BIS plans could be provided by your ISP for iPhone or Android if they wish. If you had BIS on OS7 or older it will continue. These phones require BIS to function but Z10 now can operate just just like other phone suppliers. Z10 retains the option to use BIS if ISP make it available.  Contact your ISPand  clarify the BIS issue with them. Blackberry has left the decision to ISP to supply or not. BBM continue to use BIS for delivery.

Denis

[sdgardne]

Well...given that scenario, there is no way for me, on my present generic data only plan on my Z10, to have BBM functioning...right? But it does...

It's all academic anyway...the carriers will do what they will do. And we must wait and see...

[scopewizard]

It is all about money. BES will continue with all its feature on all BB phone including Z10. BIS (Blackberry Internet Service) is not profitable to your ISP. With BIS being unlimited browsing, email and text anywhere in the world for a fix price, your ISP looses on all these extras cost nomally encountered by normal plans, extra roaming and data cost.

The compression of data by BB server for BIS was a cost advantage for ISP but that is not the case anymore. So the lost of BIS may not be BB but your ISP. Hardware, software and systems change and we must adapt or go without.

Denis