United Arab Emirates To Block BlackBerry Services On October 11th

Eric Calouro Erictric 08/01/2010 15:52

Beginning on the 11th of October, the United Arab Emirates will begin blocking BlackBerry services via the country’s mobile providers, a direct result of being unable to work out a deal with Research In Motion with reference to “compliance” within the UAE’s borders.

“With no solution available and in the public interest … Blackberry Messenger, Blackberry E-mail and Blackberry Web-browsing services will be suspended until an acceptable solution can be developed and applied,” said Mohamed al-Ghanim, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority director-general.

The move is assumed to be a direct result of the UAE’s inability to efficiently monitor citizen usage, thanks to Research In Motion’s impressive encryption technology.

Saudi Arabia quickly followed suit, noting plans for a cut-off date for BlackBerry services for similar reasons. An official statement from the country is expected in the near future.

It is also unclear as to whether or not the blocking of services will affect business people, vacationers from the outside, and government officials.

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