WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 28, 2017) - BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSX:BB) today announced the company has signed its first BlackBerry Secure licensing deal with Yangzhou New Telecom Science and Technology Company Ltd. (NTD), a Yangzhou and Beijing based electronics design firm that develops and manufactures smartphones and IoT devices.

As part of BlackBerry's multi-dimensional licensing strategy, this licensing agreement means NTD will develop devices that will be branded by OEMs, carriers and local smartphone brands and marketed as "BlackBerry Secure" due to the use of BlackBerry's security software. This builds on the agreements with BB Merah Putih, Optemius and TCL, which enable those companies to bring to market BlackBerry-branded devices such as the award-winning BlackBerry KEYone smartphone.

"This marks the next phase of our licensing strategy, which is focused on enabling vendors to bring to market mobile communication devices that aren't just secure, but BlackBerry Secure," said Alex Thurber, senior vice president and general manager of Mobility Solutions, BlackBerry. "We're thrilled to partner with NTD and Equiis and look forward to extending this dynamic relationship to include more carriers and a range of devices."

The first product from this partnership will be an all-touch smartphone, which will use BlackBerry's suite of device software security technologies and secure enterprise collaboration technology from Equiis Technologies Switzerland AG of Zurich. It is expected to ship early in 2018. Customers and markets for the smartphone will be announced at a later date.

"With hacks and other malicious threats directed towards all connected devices on the rise, we're proud to be able to offer our customers BlackBerry Secure smartphones," said Eugene Li, CEO of NTD. "Providing this level of security will give our customers peace of mind while communicating for business or just in their everyday lives."

"Working with BlackBerry and NTD to integrate the BlackBerry Secure platform with the Equiis Secure Enterprise Collaboration Suite offers our ecosystem of carriers and system integrators a best-in-class offering for their enterprise clients," said Derek Roga, CEO of Equiis Technologies Switzerland AG. "This strategic partnership elevates secure end-to-end communication and collaboration to an unprecedented level."

BlackBerry Secure is the most secure and comprehensive platform to connect people, devices, processes and systems. A BlackBerry Secure license provides smartphone, IOT, and other product manufacturers with a deeply embedded security solution that is comprised of BlackBerry's proprietary software and applications. Devices built with components from the BlackBerry Secure software platform will have best-in-class security that helps safeguard end-user privacy and protects enterprises from attackers looking to exploit device vulnerabilities.