RIM and Telefonica to introduce Blackberry App world with integrated carrier billing

Telefonica and RIM are working together to enable BlackBerry App World purchases to be applied directly to their customers’ monthly bills


Barcelona, Spain – Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) and Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) today announced that they are working together to introduce BlackBerry® App World™ with integrated carrier billing on a global basis.

Carrier billing will allow Telefonica customers to purchase apps from BlackBerry App World and charge the purchases directly to their monthly bill. Customers will also be offered the flexibility of charging in-app purchases to their carrier bill which allows for the purchase of digital goods to be made without interrupting their application experience.

’Carrier billing is a payment method that brings a unique user experience and will further develop the on-device virtual goods and applications business,’ said Joaquín Mata, Global Head of Financial Services for Telefónica.

’BlackBerry App World is now available in over 100 countries’, said Patrick Spence, Regional Managing Director, RIM. ’Integrated carrier billing will make it easier than ever for Telefonica customers to purchase apps for their BlackBerry smartphones.’

About Telefonica - Telefónica is one of the world’s largest telecommunications network operators by market capitalisation and number of customers. It centres its activities mainly on the fixed and mobile telephony businesses, while its broadband business is the key growth driver underpinning both. It operates in 25 countries and its customer base exceeds 280 million globally. Telefónica has a strong foothold in Spain, Europe and Latin America, the latter region being the lynchpin of its growth strategy.

Telefónica is a 100% private company. It has more than 1.5 million direct shareholders. Its share capital consists of 4,563,996,485 ordinary shares traded on the Spanish stock exchanges (Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia), as well as on the London, Tokyo, New York, Lima, Buenos Aires and São Paulo stock exchanges.

About Research In Motion - Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionised the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. Today, BlackBerry products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. RIM is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.