Originally Posted by
Alexey Gurevski There is an alternative approach which could help BlackBerry.
But first I ought to say that I live in a country which has never followed capitalistic principles so I have a totally different mindset, my education was built on different paradigms than people's from the Western World. Perhaps I'm wrong at some points, so don't treat this idea seriously, consider it like a fiction story.
What is the fundamental problem I see? Lack of apps and outdated hardware. The OS itself is great, build quality is awesome, design and variety fit everyone's needs.
How could the problem be fixed if BlackBerry was found in my country? The government would step up and offered its help to save the company. Here what it means in practice:
1. The government would become a loan guarantor.
2. It could order thousands/millions of devices (phones/tablets) for public sector, schools, police, etc.
3. Start a campaign in mass media and on the market, smth. like "Buy Canadian phones". Everyone from the government starting from the PM would claim "I use a Blackberry phone", "Let's have chat in BBM", etc. Everyone must be really proud of using such a great device.
4. Make a list of "socially important" services: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Force the owners of those services to provide an app for Blackberry OS. Otherwise they would be blocked in the country.
5. It's not easy to get a Snapdragon 865 CPU and put it into an old phone to upgrade it. OS Drivers are the main issue. It can be solved by manufacturers as well. The government just need to force them to develop the drivers. Otherwise, forbid sales of devices with those CPUs or increase tariffs.
So with the help of the government the company could increase demand, increase and improve supply on the local market. Boom, the strong foundation is built and the company can expand to the world's market.
Why should the government help to a private company? The answer could be that the higher is the income the more taxes you get. But in the worst case the government could nationalize the company.
Why could it work? Canadian market is large and wealthy enough not to let "Big Players" to ignore the threat.
Why it won't turn into reality?
1. This approach breaks the nature of capitalism, private property, liberty, etc.
2. It violates the rules of WTO and probably dozens of other organizations which Canada is a member of. Anyone cares?
On the other hand, never say never, the history knows a lot of examples like Roosevelt's statism during the Great Depression, Trump's attempt to bring the companies back to the US, this coronavirus stimulus thing. How much money has Fed already "printed"? Why won't the Canadian government "print" few billions for their high-tech flagship? We're witnesses of a huge crisis so ideas and approaches shouldn't be trivial.