BlackBerry CEO John Chen pledged to turn-around the struggling business enterprise smartphone company when he took the reins four months ago and he's been making big changes ever since.
His latest move is not renewing BlackBerry's license agreement with T-Mobile when it expires on April 25 citing "business strategies" between BlackBerry and T-Mobile that are no longer aligned.
"BlackBerry has had a positive relationship with T-Mobile for many years. Regretfully, at this time, our strategies are not complementary and we must act in the best interest of our BlackBerry customers," notes Chen in the official announcement.
"We hope to work with T-Mobile again in the future when our business strategies are aligned," he said, adding, "We are deeply grateful to our loyal BlackBerry customers and will do everything in our power to provide continued support with your existing carrier or ensure a smooth transition to our other carrier partners.
The announcement late Tuesday is not stunning news given T-Mobile made headlines recently when it began marketing the iPhone over the BlackBerry to new and current customers, even offering $200 to $250 incentive programs.
But it does beg a big question. Can BlackBerry, which has been losing market share, users and even respect in the competitive smartphone market some would say, afford such a partner divorce at this time?
"BlackBerry customers on the T-Mobile network should not see any difference in their service or support," states the release on the news. " BlackBerry will work closely with T-Mobile to provide the best possible customer service to any customer remaining on the T-Mobile U.S. network or to any customer purchasing devices from T-Mobile's existing inventory."
Chen says his company is also working closely with other carrier partners to provide users with alternatives should they decide to transition to another carrier and remain with BlackBerry for their long-term device and service needs.
Less than a week ago Chen was discussing some critical moves in his turn-round plan: moving back to the traditional BlackBerry keyboard instead of the touch screens brought into play, developing a device management software for corporate IT departments and putting the spotlight on Blackberry Messenger, which is now also available to Apple and Android users.
The new chief has also managed to get Blackberry's operating expenses under control reducing them by 51 percent compared to last year.
The license news release did not indicate how many BlackBerry users are impacted by the T-Mobile divorce and as of early Wednesday morning T-Mobile had not issued a response.
