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Sean Gallagher - Dec 13, 2012 5:57 pm UTC
In October, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced its intention to stop using Research in Motion's BlackBerry and replace over 17,000 employees' phones with Apple's iPhone. But RIM announced today that ICE has given the company at least a shot at a reprieve and will conduct a pilot deployment of RIM's BlackBerry 10 smartphones early in 2013.
ICE will be among the first customers to receive BlackBerry 10 devices. The agency will also be an early recipient of RIM's BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 mobile device management software, which will allow ICE's administrators to provision and manage the security of the BlackBerry 10 devices being used in the trial. BES 10 is the successor to RIM's BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and other mobile device management platforms; it will be able to manage iOS and Google Android devices as well.
RIM has already obtained Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 certification for its built-in encryption—a requirement for handling internal government communications and operating behind government agencies' network firewalls. The certification in advance of the BlackBerry 10 launch—scheduled for January 30—and the ICE trial are a chance for the company to head off at least some of the defections of its previously loyal government customer base.
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