RIM Intros BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5

On Monday, Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion announced the launch of BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5 (BlackBerry MVS 5), which includes voice over Wi-Fi calling. According to the company, the new BlackBerry MVS 5 works with Cisco Unified Communications Manager and is capable of offering business customers the possibility to use the desk phone number as extension from their BlackBerry smartphone. Basically, users will be able to share a phone number between a desk phone and BlackBerry smartphone to receive enterprise calls on their handset over a Wi-Fi connection.

According to RIM, BlackBerry MVS 5 will route calls made via BlackBerry MVS through the corporate phone system/Private Branch Exchange (PBX), which should provide savings on long-distance and international roaming charges. At the same time, the solution should offer the convenience of having a single phone number that is shared between the user's desk phone and the BlackBerry smartphone.

The solution provides increased ease of usage, as the incoming calls ring simultaneously on both the smartphone and on the desk phone. Not to mention that one will be able to move calls from the handset to the desk phone, and that the BlackBerry MVS can be accessed via the phone interface available on BlackBerry smartphones, the company notes.

“BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5 effectively provides a wireless extension of the corporate phone system to allow voice over Wi-Fi calling at work, public hotspots and home. It presents a great opportunity for companies to enhance the productivity of employees who are often away from their desks or working from home, such as workers in construction, hospitality, sales and professional services,” said Alan Panezic, VP, Platform Product Management at Research In Motion. “This latest release enables businesses to better leverage their investment in the corporate phone system, adapt to the growing demand by employees for more flexible work arrangements, improve workforce productivity and save costs on long-distance and international roaming charges.”

RIM also unveiled that it had worked closely with Cisco for the integration of BlackBerry MVS 5 with Cisco Unified Communications Manager, so that it could deliver an enhanced experience. Both companies will provide support for the solution when it becomes available later during the ongoing year. Among the main features of BlackBerry MVS 5, we can count:
- Wi-Fi network access controls to set which Wi-Fi networks employees can access
Network preference settings with the option of prioritizing the use of Wi-Fi or cellular for making phone calls
- Authentication to help ensure that only authorized BlackBerry smartphones have access to the corporate phone system
- Incoming call filtering based on allowed and blocked caller lists.