1. adriancheok's Avatar
    I tried to search but could find no answers. How many users in the world are using BIS?

    I have an old but good condition 9700 but cannot use it because BIS is no longer used by any operator in my home country (Malaysia). I'm wondering if any country offers BIS still?
    01-18-18 05:54 AM
  2. Chuck Finley69's Avatar
    I tried to search but could find no answers. How many users in the world are using BIS?

    I have an old but good condition 9700 but cannot use it because BIS is no longer used by any operator in my home country (Malaysia). I'm wondering if any country offers BIS still?
    Still here in the USA with AT&T or Verizon. Not sure if T-Mobile or Sprint offers anymore.
    rayporsche and adriancheok like this.
    01-18-18 05:56 AM
  3. goodayeh's Avatar
    Still a few providers available in Canada.
    Although most of the staff that work for them aren't aware of it.
    With some you just pop the SIM in your device and BIS gets added automatically.

    Other providers you need someone on their end to setup for you. ( those people are getting scarce )
    adriancheok likes this.
    01-18-18 06:46 AM
  4. rayporsche's Avatar
    Amid the rumors BIS is still going strong here in USA with AT&T...
    adriancheok likes this.
    01-18-18 06:51 AM
  5. Chuck Finley69's Avatar
    Still a few providers available in Canada.
    Although most of the staff that work for them aren't aware of it.
    With some you just pop the SIM in your device and BIS gets added automatically.

    Other providers you need someone on their end to setup for you. ( those people are getting scarce )
    Same thing here in states. BIS services get added when SIM card put in device. AT&T in-store rep had no idea. Why should he? Rep had no idea what BIS was/is?
    adriancheok likes this.
    01-18-18 07:06 AM
  6. rayporsche's Avatar
    Same thing here in states. BIS services get added when SIM card put in device. AT&T in-store rep had no idea. Why should he? Rep had no idea what BIS was/is?
    That's funny huh that they don't have that knowledge. In my case I was pleasantly surprised when I visited the AT&T Store and the rep was actually one of those used to be BlackBerry fans so needless to say he knew what he was doing, he went crazy playing with the 9900 which he missed and it was his first time playing with a P9981 so at the end it was a cool experience for both of us.
    adriancheok likes this.
    01-18-18 07:21 AM
  7. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    I tried to search but could find no answers. How many users in the world are using BIS?

    I have an old but good condition 9700 but cannot use it because BIS is no longer used by any operator in my home country (Malaysia). I'm wondering if any country offers BIS still?
    BlackBerry hasn't released any data on active users, in a long time.

    Yes number of markets still have access to BIS... for now.

    If you are wondering what it's worth... should be able to go online and see. Here in the US a used 9700 is about $15 - $30 (with free shipping).
    adriancheok likes this.
    01-18-18 07:29 AM
  8. Chuck Finley69's Avatar
    That's funny huh that they don't have that knowledge. In my case I was pleasantly surprised when I visited the AT&T Store and the rep was actually one of those used to be BlackBerry fans so needless to say he knew what he was doing, he went crazy playing with the 9900 which he missed and it was his first time playing with a P9981 so at the end it was a cool experience for both of us.
    You got lucky. I have five AT&T Stores Inc (2 Corporate and 3 Dealer) around me and never have personnel familiar with BIS (Old BB) let alone old enough to have used it.
    adriancheok likes this.
    01-18-18 07:39 AM
  9. conite's Avatar
    To the question of how many BIS users, I'd say 1.5 million. Add to that about 1-1.5 BB10 users.
    adriancheok likes this.
    01-18-18 07:52 AM
  10. joeldf's Avatar
    Does any of it matter now that we know that the whole thing gets shut down from Waterloo's end on Dec 31 2019?
    adriancheok likes this.
    01-18-18 08:31 AM
  11. eldricho's Avatar
    The two mobile providers here in Curaçao - Digicel and Chippie - still offer BIS plans
    rayporsche and bunky1971 like this.
    01-18-18 08:45 AM
  12. Invictus0's Avatar
    Does any of it matter now that we know that the whole thing gets shut down from Waterloo's end on Dec 31 2019?
    Only BB World is shutting down at the end of 2019, BIS will be supported for at least 2 more years. We'll probably get an EOL date sometime after that.

    Supporting BB10 and BBOS Customers and Rewarding Your Loyalty | Inside BlackBerry
    rayporsche likes this.
    01-18-18 09:33 AM
  13. joeldf's Avatar
    Only BB World is shutting down at the end of 2019, BIS will be supported for at least 2 more years. We'll probably get an EOL date sometime after that.

    Supporting BB10 and BBOS Customers and Rewarding Your Loyalty | Inside BlackBerry
    From the time that was announced, just last December, "2 more years" IS Dec 2019.
    01-18-18 09:36 AM
  14. Invictus0's Avatar
    From the time that was announced, just last December, "2 more years" IS Dec 2019.
    Sure but they aren't saying they'll shut down BIS at that date, just that they'll guarantee support for at least that long (unlike BB World which actually has a solid EOL date).
    rayporsche likes this.
    01-18-18 09:51 AM
  15. Chuck Finley69's Avatar
    Sure but they aren't saying they'll shut down BIS at that date, just that they'll guarantee support for at least that long (unlike BB World which actually has a solid EOL date).
    I believe it's the carriers that will shut down BIS and that's why notice was given.
    01-18-18 09:56 AM
  16. joeldf's Avatar
    Sure but they aren't saying they'll shut down BIS at that date, just that they'll guarantee support for at least that long (unlike BB World which actually has a solid EOL date).
    I suppose, but I'll take it to mean that it all goes down at that time - BIS, BBID, all of it.

    Until we hear otherwise, because those are specifics we weren't given.

    (Yes, I will assume the worst).
    01-18-18 09:59 AM
  17. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    I suppose, but I'll take it to mean that it all goes down at that time - BIS, BBID, all of it.

    Until we hear otherwise, because those are specifics we weren't given.

    (Yes, I will assume the worst).
    I suspect they are hoping that in two years the number of users will be such (or in markets) that it won't matter if they shut it all down.

    At some point it won't be worth individual carriers resources to offer this service - suppressed out side of Indonesia it is right now.

    But the real cost savings will be to shutdown all of it, the whole NOC.... BBW, BBID, Activation and Update Servers, BBM for BB10 and BBOS.

    Two more years is a long time, even for those only now finding a BBOS or BB10 device at some greatly reduced price.
    pdr733 likes this.
    01-18-18 11:51 AM
  18. adriancheok's Avatar
    Does any of it matter now that we know that the whole thing gets shut down from Waterloo's end on Dec 31 2019?
    Oh really? I knew that they will stop support but actually they will shut down BIS also? Wow that is huge news. The total end of an era!
    01-18-18 12:06 PM
  19. Invictus0's Avatar
    I believe it's the carriers that will shut down BIS and that's why notice was given.
    I wouldn't doubt that carriers are probably in more of a hurry than BlackBerry to get rid of BIS as SAF's are still bringing in decent revenue for them.

    Oh really? I knew that they will stop support but actually they will shut down BIS also? Wow that is huge news. The total end of an era!
    We don't know when BIS is shutting down, just that BlackBerry will support it until at least the end of 2019. It's possible your carrier may shut it down before then.
    adriancheok likes this.
    01-18-18 01:41 PM
  20. Troy Tiscareno's Avatar
    As reported here by several users back in 2016, both AT&T and Verizon have announced that BIS will be shut down this year (on their networks). Sprint and T-Mobile have already done so (back in 2016, in fact). So, in the US at least, it seems that BB's plans are irrelevant.
    adriancheok likes this.
    01-18-18 05:11 PM
  21. valer466's Avatar
    I suspect they are hoping that in two years the number of users will be such (or in markets) that it won't matter if they shut it all down.

    At some point it won't be worth individual carriers resources to offer this service - suppressed out side of Indonesia it is right now.

    But the real cost savings will be to shutdown all of it, the whole NOC.... BBW, BBID, Activation and Update Servers, BBM for BB10 and BBOS.

    Two more years is a long time, even for those only now finding a BBOS or BB10 device at some greatly reduced price.
    If they shut down NOC then no BES & BB10 enterprise & Consumer BBM, even for the android guys running paid BBM.

    So i doubt NOC will shut down. They'll probably have bill & bob restart all racks once in a month or so.
    01-19-18 07:23 AM
  22. valer466's Avatar
    Airtel, Vodafone, Idea & Docomo do offer it in India. No EOL given. They just letting old timers stay on until they ditch their 9900/Torch's, which i think will happen by 2025 maybe. Probably server costs don't cost too much for Indian operators. Otherwise they would have shut them down too by now.

    Besides there's a huge population of 2G users who dont need a smart phone here, thereby allowing legacy edge services to continue until they refarm spectrum & force people onto 3G/4G lte
    rayporsche likes this.
    01-19-18 07:26 AM
  23. Chuck Finley69's Avatar
    If they shut down NOC then no BES & BB10 enterprise & Consumer BBM, even for the android guys running paid BBM.

    So i doubt NOC will shut down. They'll probably have bill & bob restart all racks once in a month or so.
    I thought BBM Android/IOS/Microsoft was dual running transferred over to Emtek .
    01-19-18 07:29 AM
  24. bb10adopter111's Avatar
    As reported here by several users back in 2016, both AT&T and Verizon have announced that BIS will be shut down this year (on their networks). Sprint and T-Mobile have already done so (back in 2016, in fact). So, in the US at least, it seems that BB's plans are irrelevant.
    I've seen that posted here, but have not been able to confirm it anywhere else. I can't find any announcement from AT&T. Is it possible this is a rumor? I don't expect BIS to be around forever, but can't confirm a 2018 termination.

    Posted with my trusty Z10
    rayporsche likes this.
    01-19-18 08:13 AM
  25. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    Sure but they aren't saying they'll shut down BIS at that date, just that they'll guarantee support for at least that long (unlike BB World which actually has a solid EOL date).
    They said BB World and other services....

    Right now those "other services" is an unknown, but they did say something more than BB World was being shutdown. We won't know unless they decide to share more information, or we wait two years to find out. My guess is, it will depend on the number of users and who those users are. But with the number of security vulnerabilities that have dropped recently.... I doubt in two years you'll find any big accounts using BB10 anymore.
    01-19-18 09:19 AM
58 123

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