If you’re ready to make the move to BlackBerry Mobile Service, here are the steps to get going:

Customer Administrator — Subscribe to the service with Northwestel for Hosted Microsoft Exchange service

The BlackBerry Mobile Service costs a few dollars more per month for each user who takes advantage of it. Each user must subscribe to NHME Full Client class of service to activate the Blackberry Mobile Service. These fees will show up on your telephone bill from Northwestel Inc.

Before buying devices or wireless service plans, please contact Northwestel to find out about RIM Blackberry support on Hosted Microsoft Exchange outlining the price and terms of service.

User — Have a MAPI user account on the Hosted Exchange rig

Northwestel Hosted Microsoft Exchange provides multiple tiers of service. Lower tiers include simple POP or IMAP access, and the top tier typically contains a protocol called MAPI, which is a Microsoft protocol that employs the full functionality of the Exchange email server and the Outlook email client.

To have your mail forwarded from your hosted email account to a BlackBerry device, your email account must be a MAPI account.

If you are uncertain as to what type of account you currently have, please contact Northwestel.

User — Buy the device

The BlackBerry Enterprise Server supports the RIM 850 and all more recent handheld devices, but the latest version of the BlackBerry client operating system should be on all devices used in the environment.

Subscribe to a wireless network

Northwestel Hosted Microsoft Exchange responsibilities are limited to their data center up to the internet. To move messaging to and from the BlackBerry hand-held device, you must have a wireless network service.

You can choose from various wireless packages to suite your requirement and purchase them from Latitude Wireless or an NMI Mobility outlet.

Northwestel Hosted Microsoft Exchange — Enable the BlackBerry Mobile Service for the customer

After you have subscribed to Blackberry support on our Hosted Microsoft Exchange service and your account has been processed, Northwestel will make the BlackBerry service available for your company. This in itself will incur the Northwestel Hosted Microsoft Exchange monthly charge(s) (an implementation fee may apply). You will not incur any monthly wireless charges until you have turned the BlackBerry service on for individual users.

Install any required software on your PC

Every BlackBerry handheld device comes with a cradle and a CD-ROM necessary to use the device.

Configure your handheld device

Your BlackBerry device will come with instructions on how to configure it for use with Microsoft Exchange and the desktop Outlook client.

These instructions vary from device to device and cannot be reproduced here, but the typical configuration time is about fifteen minutes, and involves cradling the device while at your workstation, connected to the Exchange server, and moving through a short configuration wizard.