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BlackBerry Ltd. shares surged as the U.S. Defense Department said its smartphones will be the primary device supported on a new network, showing that rivals are finding it difficult to unseat the longtime government supplier.

About 80,000 BlackBerrys will start being hooked up to the department’s management system at the end of this month, the Defense Information Systems Agency said in a statement last week. The network will also include 1,800 phones and tablets based on Apple Inc.’s iOS software and Google Inc.’s Android operating system.

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BlackBerry rose as much as 12%. It was trading 8.1% higher at $9.82 at 11:35 a.m. in New York. The company’s Canadian shares had already jumped 8.2% yesterday in Toronto while U.S. exchanges were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. After tumbling 37% last year, the U.S. shares had gained 22% this year through Jan. 17.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company is counting on loyalty from customers like the U.S. government after losing market share to Apple and Android devices for years. Its smartphones hadn’t been able to match the same features and range of consumer-focused applications of the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy.