Telecom Lead India: The Pentagon has cleared BlackBerry and Samsung mobile devices for use on Defence Department networks.
Lieutenant Colonel Damien Pickart, a Pentagon spokesman, said the department cleared the use of BlackBerry 10 smart phones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets using its Enterprise Service 10 system, as well as Samsung’s Android Knox.
“This is a significant step towards establishing a multi-vendor environment that supports a variety of state-of-the-art devices and operating systems,” said Pickart in a statement.
Pentagon is expected to clear Apple mobile devices using the iOS 6 system at some point in early May.
The move to open up Defence Department networks is expected to set the stage for an intensified struggle for Pentagon customers among BlackBerry devices, Apple’s iPhones or iPads and units using Google’s Android platform such as Samsung Electronics’ phones.
The Pentagon has some 600,000 users of smart phones, computer tablets and other mobile devices. The department has 470,000 BlackBerry users, 41,000 Apple users and 8,700 people with Android devices. Most Apple and Android systems are in pilot or test programs.
Pickart said the decision on Thursday did not result in product orders. But it will enable user groups within the Pentagon to purchase the devices most appropriate for their work as the need arises.
