[stevew]

Just an FYI...

We have BES (latest OS) and BESX (latest OS as well), soon to decommission the BES.

We have installed several users on BESX who do NOT have BIS only data plans provisioned on Bell and it works perfectly with the standard Bell BIS plan. The point was to eliminate the Business BES data plan and have the ability to move to any other provider who offers BlackBerry BIS only plans, and not be dependent on BES plans available only from Rogers and Bell in Canada. Cost differences between the two can be substantial, as users don't have the same cost flexibility when on Business plans. All other providers offer BIS only plans. Traditionally, Businesses get whacked on costs by Telco's, just because it's a so-called Business plan.

OTA activations work flawlessly as well on BESX.

BESX is a perfect solution for many of us.

[zadigre]

are you still be able to do an OTA activation with a BIS plan?

I also installed BES Express to eventually replace an old BES 4.1.x server...

I have around 35 Blackberry... some of them are on a BIS plan... work fine... I activated them while connected to a computer or directly to the BES Express server thinking that OTA wasn't going to work.

[stevew]

Absolutely - 100% tried and tested on multiple devices. Even if you're subscribed to a BES data plan and BIS, it works, or BES only or BIS only as well. I've already activated a few phones that were BES provisioned by Bell, with both BES and BIS accounts - and I've activated BIS only provisioned phones, all OTA. You do NOT need a BES plan to activate them OTA, period, but bear in mind, this was on Bell, not Rogers. I'm in Montreal...if you want to test your Rogers phones through our BESX, I can help you. Just PM me.

[knottyrope]

BIS can work for ATA EA if it is new/wiped or you have the app.

good links on OTA here
Activating Devices That are Associated With the Bl... - BlackBerry Support Community Forums

[zadigre]

Originally Posted by stevew

Absolutely - 100% tried and tested on multiple devices. Even if you're subscribed to a BES data plan and BIS, it works, or BES only or BIS only as well. I've already activated a few phones that were BES provisioned by Bell, with both BES and BIS accounts - and I've activated BIS only provisioned phones, all OTA. You do NOT need a BES plan to activate them OTA, period, but bear in mind, this was on Bell, not Rogers. I'm in Montreal...if you want to test your Rogers phones through our BESX, I can help you. Just PM me.

I already have a BES Express server working on our network... so I will try it myself... thanks for this offer...

but right now, why would someone chose a BES plan if BIS works the same way to a BES Express server if the only thing you need/want is a good synchronization with an Exchange server?

most BIS plan are cheaper... includes a bigger data package... easier to get with any provider...

thanks for this tip...