Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Selects BlackBerry's AtHoc for Business Continuity and Crisis Communication

SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA--(Nov. 3, 2015) - BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSX:BB), a global leader in secure mobile communications, today announced that Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has selected AtHoc, a division of BlackBerry, for its new highly secure alerting and crisis communication system. WMATA's primary objective for this stage of deployment within the IT organization is to be able to distribute certain actionable information to and from the Information Technology's (IT) Metro Enterprise Monitoring Center (MEMC), Helpdesk and Customer Services sections within the Office of Data Center and Infrastructure (DCI). The new AtHoc system enhances how alerts and critical events are shared with key staff members, on call personnel and decision makers. Protecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII) was a critical requirement, which AtHoc's highly secure infrastructure and technology was able to deliver.

Serving the Washington Metropolitan area, WMATA must coordinate with a large number of internal departments and external agencies in times of crisis. Leveraging this deployment, WMATA will use AtHoc Connect™, AtHoc's platform for secure interoperable crisis communication to create secure, unified crisis communication network that enables rapid communication between internal teams, first responders, local facilities, and key decision makers. Such information sharing includes cross-agency exchange of messages results in improved situational awareness and rapid coordinated response. Additional organizations WMATA is targeting to join the new network include several adjacent airports, county law enforcement agencies including fire, rescue, as well as multiple Federal agencies.

"Our first priority is to ensure that critical communications are sent out reliably and securely," said Claude Swanson, Chief of Data Center & Infrastructures for WMATA. "The ability to securely coordinate and communicate with our staff, decision makers and external organizations in critical situations is of tremendous value to WMATA to ensure actions are communicated to the right people quickly."

"We welcome the opportunity to partner with WMATA in the organizationally diverse and critical National Capital Region." said Dubhe Beinhorn, Vice President of AtHoc's Homeland Security and Government Group. "We are proud to support WMATA's innovative achievements in safety and technology leadership."

About WMATA

WMATA operates and maintains a safe, reliable and effective transit system that enhances mobility, improves the quality of life, and stimulates economic development in the Washington metropolitan area. For more information about the WMATA, please visit www.wmata.com.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry is securing a connected world, delivering innovative solutions across the entire mobile ecosystem and beyond. We secure the world's most sensitive data across all end points - from cars to smartphones - making the mobile-first enterprise vision a reality. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Company trades under the ticker symbols "BB" on the Toronto Stock Exchange and "BBRY" on the NASDAQ. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

About AtHoc

AtHoc, a division of BlackBerry Limited, is the pioneer and recognized leader in networked crisis communication, protecting millions of people and thousands of organizations around the world. AtHoc provides a seamless and reliable exchange of critical information among organizations, their people and devices. A trusted partner to the world's most demanding customers, AtHoc is the leading provider to the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, and safeguards numerous other government agencies and leading commercial enterprises. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, AtHoc operates around the globe. For more information, please visit www.athoc.com.