Blackberry 2012 Annual Report Download - page 17

Industry Background
The Wireless Communications Industry
The wireless communications industry involves the provisioning of wireless voice and data services using radio frequency
technologies (RF) on a variety of competing wireless networks. These networks are typically comprised of a distinct voice layer upon
which data transmission layers have been subsequently installed. The most widely deployed wireless voice and data networks include
GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSPA and CDMA/1xRTT/EVDO. The two primary international voice and data networks
GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSPA and CDMA/EVDO continue to be upgraded to offer greater speeds and increased abilities to support
subscriber concentration in the same and new RF spectrums. The rollout of these technologies is well underway and commercially
available in many markets around the world.
Fiscal 2011 saw the first commercial introduction of next generation networks, including HSPA+, WiMax and LTE. These networks
offer a number of improvements over the previous generations, with improved download and upload speeds being the most widely
promoted. Wireless carriers in the United States have been aggressively deploying and marketing these “4G” networks. Deployment
of these networks remains limited globally, but wireless operators in many international markets are expected to move to these new
networks in the coming years.
In addition to voice and data communications, the convergence of computing and personal entertainment capabilities is also occurring
on wireless communications devices across the industry. Most BlackBerry smartphones in the market today incorporate multimedia
capabilities that include music, video recording and playback, camera, and access to games, content and other applications.
Wireless Communications Industry Markets and Segments
Historically, the wireless communications market has been highly segmented. Where previously the market was segmented into
distinct enterprise and consumer/prosumer segments, the market has evolved in recent years and there is now significant overlap
between the segments. The enterprise market is now characterized by a combination of enterprise deployed devices and devices that
are purchased by consumers but also used in the corporate environment, commonly referred to as “Bring Your Own
Device” (“BYOD”). These consumer devices are supported in a corporate environment by IT departments for access to corporate
messaging and data applications. The Company has encountered challenges adapting to the BYOD movement as some IT
departments that previously required employees to use the BlackBerry wireless solution because of its emphasis on security and
reliability are permitting employees to choose devices offered by the Company’s competitors. To address this evolution of the market,
RIM recently introduced products to take advantage of this market shift including BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express, BlackBerry
Mobile Fusion and BlackBerry Balance, which give IT departments the ability to securely monitor multiple OS platforms as well as
securely protect corporate data on an employee’s personal smartphone or tablet.
Products designed for deployment by enterprise IT departments typically include a smartphone or tablet that is deployed in
conjunction with a behind-the-firewall messaging server. Consumer market offerings are chosen by the individual user and carrier and
may be chosen based on an affinity for a certain feature or capability such as browsing, multimedia functions, instant messaging,
games or other third-party applications. Enterprises that choose to support these consumer devices in their enterprise environment
typically deploy middleware to manage the messaging and security of enterprise data access.
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