[limodavid]

I read something about the way a BB reduces content in emails, websites etc. is ending for non-BES users. Does that mean BIS will now longer be available and I will lose my BIS BBID? Surely I misunderstood! Please help!

[adrenaline_x]

BIs is no longer being used for Communications from the NON BES activated bb10 Devices and will use pop/imap/activesync for email and direct internet connectivity like any other smartphone. The older BB os 7 and earlier phones will continue to work through bis. The BES activated bb10 will still have secured and encrypted communications through the NOC from the Device to the Bes servers.

[limodavid]

Being somewhat of a neophyte, does that mean I will lose my @.att.blackberry.net email address if I step up to BB10? I use the BIS exclusively for my small business as the "no-push" factor means almost instant reception of email sent to that address. Given the loss of that address will that mean any other email address I use will come through a "push" or forward function e.g. my comcast.net address may be "pushed" to my BB9800 or comcast allows it to be "forwarded". If forwarded delivery is almost immediate, if pushed it takes longer. Anything you are able to contribute to help me is appreciated! Thank you!

[cjcampbell]

We don't know the full details but it will be, apparently, a tiered system where you now have the option of BIS. I'm not 100% positive on this but that's what I understand.

[joeldf]

The tiered option idea has been bounced around since it was mentioned in the earnings call last month. But I have a feeling that was more for places where BIS is an added cost to the basic data plans.

What we don't know is how that would affect those in the U.S. on one of the major carriers like AT&T. We have always had full BIS without getting charged extra for it. Amazing that AT&T ever did that given the way they try to charge for every other little add-on (tethering, bridge). Will AT&T still offer full BIS as part of the data plan as usual? Will it stay that way for those of us still on the grandfathered unlimited plans? Just upgrading to any other LTE phone so far doesn't make a difference - a grandfathered plan usually can continue.

[cjcampbell]

The tiered option idea has been bounced around since it was mentioned in the earnings call last month. But I have a feeling that was more for places where BIS is an added cost to the basic data plans.

What we don't know is how that would affect those in the U.S. on one of the major carriers like AT&T. We have always had full BIS without getting charged extra for it. Amazing that AT&T ever did that given the way they try to charge for every other little add-on (tethering, bridge). Will AT&T still offer full BIS as part of the data plan as usual? Will it stay that way for those of us still on the grandfathered unlimited plans? Just upgrading to any other LTE phone so far doesn't make a difference - a grandfathered plan usually can continue.

BIS is an extra charge but carrier's here just hide it in the cost of your plan. They still paid RIM for every BB account active. Regardless though, I'll still go with BIS given the option.

[xamdam]

Well I can state 100% an iphone data plan will work for BB phones as I did so and a Bis plan will work for iphone and Samsung galaxy s3 or heck any smartphone.

Carriers don't tell u of this, but it will

[kevinnugent]

Well I can state 100% an iphone data plan will work for BB phones as I did so and a Bis plan will work for iphone and Samsung galaxy s3 or heck any smartphone.

Carriers don't tell u of this, but it will

I'd like to know how. I'm asked to pay an extra $10 a month here for BIS over a iPhone/Android/Everything else plan. I'd avoid it if I could.

[xamdam]

I'd like to know how. I'm asked to pay an extra $10 a month here for BIS over a iPhone/Android/Everything else plan. I'd avoid it if I could.

Well let me explain a little more.

For data plan iphone will work on bis plan I had a Bis plan since 5yrs now and look in my signature what I have for a phone and older phones.

Now as for getting emails with iphone well of course u can not use your BlackBerry.net email address as u need a BB to access their server.

I still have the BIS plan incase I need my old BB 9000 warmed up for a backup phone it is still original except the ball but that is new as of 2 weeks ago, awesome phone original battery too still like new.

[joeldf]

BIS is an extra charge but carrier's here just hide it in the cost of your plan. They still paid RIM for every BB account active. Regardless though, I'll still go with BIS given the option.

AT&T charges the same price per month for a BlackBerry data plan as they do for a data plan for any other smartphone. There is no price difference. It may be that AT&T just don't make as much on a consumer BB because, as you say, RIM is getting a fee somehow. They may have relied on the BES fees, which is $15 more, from the business or government users.

[G-bone]

You may pay a little extra for a BB plan, but you save a FORTUNE in data consumption - since I went back to BB I use data on the go way more than ever, and haven't come close to using my one gig - one reason carriers don't like it.


#BB10Believe

[jonno_atamaniuk]

Umm.... I think this is incorrect, as last I had heard, one still needed to have a BlackBerry Plan (read: BIS package) in order to use a BB10 device.

Those stating that carriers hide the charge within the plan or that the same plan works for all, take a notice of where in the world you are. You're most likely in North America where the carriers DO hide the BIS charge within the plan itself, and through the automated back end usually the network will realize that it is a BlackBerry device connected and begin to tunnel data through RIM's servers. For absolute best results (and I know this from personal experience by the way), it is ALWAYS advised to contact your carrier before switching from a BlackBerry to anything else and vice versa so that your carrier can ensure everything is being done properly on the network / billing end (like not being charged $0.05 / Kb of BIS data when on a plan that doesn't have BIS turned on). Elsewhere in the world (read: Not the USA or Canada), carriers pass the bill directly to the client to access the BIS, just as they pass the bill on EVERYWHERE in order to access BES. So in those other countries, in order to get BB10, you will still require your BIS access plan. That is to the best of my knowledge, however being in North America I don't have to worry about that nearly as much and simply need to ensure that the network I use is aware I'm using a BlackBerry. When in doubt, consult with your carrier.

[kevinnugent]

Well let me explain a little more.

For data plan iphone will work on bis plan I had a Bis plan since 5yrs now and look in my signature what I have for a phone and older phones.

Now as for getting emails with iphone well of course u can not use your BlackBerry.net email address as u need a BB to access their server.

I still have the BIS plan incase I need my old BB 9000 warmed up for a backup phone it is still original except the ball but that is new as of 2 weeks ago, awesome phone original battery too still like new.

Yes, I realise you can use an iPhone on a BIS Plan and have full functionality. The reverse isn't true though, as far as I know. You cannot use a Blackberry on a iPhone plan and have full functionality.

[helis4life]

Ok So say we dont need BIS for emails and browsing and that sort of thing, would BBM still work over BIS?

Also I find my speed via bis seems to be slower then normal 3g speeds, This is in australia, is this normal?

[kevinnugent]

Ok So say we dont need BIS for emails and browsing and that sort of thing, would BBM still work over BIS?

Also I find my speed via bis seems to be slower then normal 3g speeds, This is in australia, is this normal?

Pretty normal. I nearly always get my Gmail on my iPhone before my BIS emails. I think there's going to be tiers of BIS services. Basic (free) would allow emails and data. Advanced (cost per month) will allow that plus BBM and other bits and Platinum (more like BES) will allow everything. I don't know who/how/if they are going to pass this through the hundreds of carriers that will need to be involved though. But, smarter minds than me work these things out.

[helis4life]

Pretty normal. I nearly always get my Gmail on my iPhone before my BIS emails. I think there's going to be tiers of BIS services. Basic (free) would allow emails and data. Advanced (cost per month) will allow that plus BBM and other bits and Platinum (more like BES) will allow everything. I don't know who/how/if they are going to pass this through the hundreds of carriers that will need to be involved though. But, smarter minds than me work these things out.

So its slower due to having more hops from the target to me? That sucks really. I found the internet to be quite slow on the playbook when I was bridged to my BB but if i switched on mobile hotspot on the phone which uses the normal cellular network it was noticeabley faster which saddened me some what. 4g may eliminate this problem or at least make it less noticeable but 4g in australia is still in its infancy particulary with optus.

No one I know IRL has a blackberry, Ive never used BBM once

[belfastdispatcher]

All leaks show the BB symbol next to the signal indicator which suggests to me a connection to BIS still.

[greggebhardt]

BIS will cost the carrier an extra fee and I wold not doubt that AT&T will push that fee to the user whee in the past the $30 plan covered it. It is one of the reasons that AT&T pushed other phones as they were absorbing this BIS fee.

[hoopitz]

I know that everything is just speculation until the 30th, but i REALLY hope that BIS doesn't become an extra cost per month for the consumer. I can't imagine RIM would give you the option to not be connected to BIS at all, because isn't that how the push emails and BBMs come through? So assuming that you're always going to be on BIS for emails and BBM, what could an "upgraded tier" include? Increased security? Cloud services? Anyone have any ideas?

[kill_9]

I found the internet to be quite slow on the playbook when I was bridged to my BB but if i switched on mobile hotspot on the phone which uses the normal cellular network it was noticeabley faster which saddened me some what. 4g may eliminate this problem or at least make it less noticeable but 4g in australia is still in its infancy particulary with optus.

You are comparing Bluetooth (BlackBerry Bridge) to 3G, of course Bluetooth is slower.

[BBerryPowerUser]

Most carriers forward the BIS charge to their customers. A few do not. I happen to currently be on a Pre-Pay plan from Simple Mobile, an MVNO of T-Mobile. They do NOT charge for BIS. Same cost of $50 a month unlimited everything whether you use iOS, Android or BlackBerry with true BIS. Nice.

When I was with T-Mo, I was on the old $20 a month unlimited BIS. No extra charge for data. Data included, also unlimited. They did not think the older BlackBerries were going to use a lot of data by any stretch of the imagination. This kept me with BlackBerry, since, if I switched to another smartphone platform, I'd have to pay $30 to $50 extra for data. Every time I went in to a T-Mo Store and talked upgrade, they would always say, "OMG, you are on the old BlackBerry data plan for $20 unlimited. You have to stay with BlackBerry. That's too good of a deal compared to today's data plans!"

So I stayed with BlackBerry. Glad I did. Very glad. My current 9780 has been ridiculously ROCK SOLID!

Sidebar;
I'm a bit disappointed the new "10" will apparently not be BIS. I suppose it's a sign of the times. Still, it is a bit of a disappointment for me.

[jonno_atamaniuk]

Most carriers forward the BIS charge to their customers. A few do not. I happen to currently be on a Pre-Pay plan from Simple Mobile, an MVNO of T-Mobile. They do NOT charge for BIS. Same cost of $50 a month unlimited everything whether you use iOS, Android or BlackBerry with true BIS. Nice.

When I was with T-Mo, I was on the old $20 a month unlimited BIS. No extra charge for data. Data included, also unlimited. They did not think the older BlackBerries were going to use a lot of data by any stretch of the imagination. This kept me with BlackBerry, since, if I switched to another smartphone platform, I'd have to pay $30 to $50 extra for data. Every time I went in to a T-Mo Store and talked upgrade, they would always say, "OMG, you are on the old BlackBerry data plan for $20 unlimited. You have to stay with BlackBerry. That's too good of a deal compared to today's data plans!"

So I stayed with BlackBerry. Glad I did. Very glad. My current 9780 has been ridiculously ROCK SOLID!

Sidebar;
I'm a bit disappointed the new "10" will apparently not be BIS. I suppose it's a sign of the times. Still, it is a bit of a disappointment for me.

When did they say it would not be using BIS? At last check I was made aware that any BB10 phones will require BB plans... the dev alphas were exemptions to that.

[Bla1ze]

Being somewhat of a neophyte, does that mean I will lose my @.att.blackberry.net email address if I step up to BB10?

You MAY be able to keep the existing one but new BIS / 'carrier branded' email accounts will not be able to be created.

[Bla1ze]

Yes, I realise you can use an iPhone on a BIS Plan and have full functionality. The reverse isn't true though, as far as I know. You cannot use a Blackberry on a iPhone plan and have full functionality.

Depends on your carrier and how they treat their account set-ups. In the US, most carriers are full of BS and force false limitations.

[belfastdispatcher]

Depends on your carrier and how they treat their account set-ups. In the US, most carriers are full of BS and force false limitations.

Very true, I was talking to somebody who works for tmobile usa and they couldn't believe the way it's set up for Vodafone UK.

Everything comes out of my 1gb plan, bis services, direct carrier connection and mobile hotspot.

And the phone seems capable of connacting to BIS and Direct carrier connection at the same time, for example when watching youtube I can still get BBMs on my 9900, on the 9700 this wasn't posibile, it was one or the other.

I can confirm everything BBM is 100% NOC dependant.