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BlackBerry vow(Gulf Daily News (Bahrain) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) BLACKBERRY users in Bahrain were yesterday reassured that services would not be suspended here. Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) spokesman Abdulelah Abdulla told the GDN that the watchdog had "no intention to block BlackBerry services in Bahrain". His comments follow an announcement by the UAE yesterday that it would halt BlackBerry services in October due to security fears. Saudi Arabia also announced its decision to ban BlackBerry Messenger services for the same reason yesterday. The move by the UAE follows a warning from Bahrain in April against using BlackBerry Messenger software to distribute local news. India raised security concerns about the service last week. The UAE said it would suspend BlackBerry Messenger, e-mail and web browser services on October 11, citing security concerns about encrypted data it cannot monitor. The move will affect half a million users, as well as visitors to the Gulf state. "It's a final decision, but we are continuing discussions with them (BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion)," said UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) director-general Mohammed Al Ghanem. "Censorship has got nothing to do with this. What we are talking about is suspension due to the lack of compliance with UAE telecommunications regulations." The UAE objects to BlackBerry data being exported offshore and managed by a "foreign, commercial operation". The regulator said only BlackBerry data services operated that way. "Today's decision is based on the fact that, in their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE," the UAE TRA said. Mr Al Ghanem said the suspension would also apply to BlackBerry users with foreign telephone numbers, closing one potential loophole. The suspension of BlackBerry Messenger, e-mail and web browsing services comes after attempts dating back to 2007 to bring the service into line with regulations, the UAE's TRA said. State-controlled Saudi Telecom Company (STC) also confirmed the kingdom's regulator had imposed a ban on BlackBerry Messenger services, according to a board member speaking on Al Arabiya television. "The UAE took a bolder step than Saudi Arabia whereas Saudi is only banning one, the messenger," said board member Abdulrahman Mazi. "I hope this is only a kind of pressure on Research In Motion (RIM) to take steps to provide information when needed." Sources said the Saudi regulator had ordered the freeze effective this month. Subscribers Users of the device said the ban could mean disruptions for companies and individuals who rely on the services, including almost 700,000 in Saudi Arabia and more than 500,000 in the UAE, according to news agency reports. RIM, a Canadian firm, has more than 41 million BlackBerry subscribers, meaning the Gulf bans could affect less than three per cent of its users. In Saudi, BlackBerry handsets have become the must-have gizmo for youngsters. "About 80pc of Saudi-based BlackBerry users are individuals and 20pc are enterprises, while these ratios are basically reversed in developing nations," said one industry source. In the UAE, which is slowly emerging from an economic slowdown brought about by the global financial crisis and Dubai's property crash, some worried the move was aimed at curbing free speech. Wrangling over the issue included an incident last year in which state-controlled local service provider Etisalat introduced what it called a software upgrade. RIM said it was an unauthorised "telecommunications surveillance application". "I think there will be such an uproar, it probably won't happen and a solution will be found," said Irfan Ellam, Al Mal Capital telecoms analyst, referring to the mooted services ban. He said RIM had been asked to set up a proxy server in India to allow the government there to monitor traffic from a security perspective and the same approach might resolve the issue in the UAE and elsewhere. "The UAE is asking them to have a server here and they are offering solutions other than that," a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. "BlackBerry appears to be compliant in similar regulatory environments of other countries, which makes non-compliance in the UAE both disappointing and of great concern," the UAE's telecoms regulator said. [email protected] (c) 2009 Gulf Daily News Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |