BlackBerry services to be suspended in the UAE starting October 11th

By on Aug 1, 2010 at 9:34 AM
Breaking August 1, 2010

Apparently unable to work out a solution to get BlackBerry devices “compliant” with the UAE, the country has stated that it will disable BlackBerry services on October 11th. The Director of the Telecommunication Regulation Authority had this to say:

“With no solution available and in the public interest, in order to affect resolution of this issue, as of October 11, 2010, Blackberry Messenger, Blackberry Email and Blackberry Web-browsing services will be suspended until an acceptable solution can be developed and applied.”

All United Arab Emirate carriers are set to comply with the decision. There is also no timetable for a “compliant solution” to be integrated. We’d love to be on the internal RIM email chain this morning…

Thanks, to everyone who sent this over!

Update: We have heard Saudi Arabia is also blocking BlackBerry data services, but unlike the UAE, it is being suspended as of today. Can anyone confirm?

Update 2: Saudi Arabia has started blocking BlackBerry Messenger at this time, but not email, web browsing, or other data services.

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  • joeb

    If someone cant control YOU!…you will stop them from having/doing things..nuff said!

  • Abdul

    As long as women aren’t allowed to have equal rights, respect and protection under the law I will respect this great new law.

    • Mr. Bill

      The world, will take your women, that, are smarter then yourself, and then all you boys can hang out in the caves all day an not one, will care.

      Problem solved.

      • MONOPOLY MAN

        Come back to us when you know the difference between “then” and “than”. You’re an embarrassment to Americans.

  • Walter Feder-Cohen

    I had to Google UAE..

    • Bill

      Don’t waste your time!

  • Mohammad

    I don’t like blackberries.

    • Apocalypse

      That’s cause your a terrorist that wnts to suppress your young.

      • Apocalypse

        and watch western porn

  • mr.add

    Wow. Makes me glade to be in america where we have a right to the services we pay for.

    • bob

      Um yeah, the only reason they do that is because Blackberry has given the US government access to the BlackBerry network so they can already monitor and eavesdrop on people’s conversations through BlackBerry messenger and other services. Source: ” Indian intelligence services want the same privileges enjoyed by other foreign intelligence services including, reportedly, the U.S. and Chinese governments.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/01/uae-saudi-arabia-blackberry-ban_n_666581.html“

  • Moe

    If UAE and the Saudis want a dedicated server for BIS/BES because they feel so special and they are so paranoid of people having some privacy, they should pay for it.

    In North America and most of the Western hemisphere we appreciate FREEDOM and PRIVACY. RIM has allow access to certain data if requested on a lawful manner (there is a process to follow) in the past if that serve to keep us safe.

  • legendary

    Why should UAE / Saudi Arabia pay for the local servers? If RIM wants to do business there they should set up the local BIS / BES servers …… its the “cost of doing business” within the confines of the law of the land. AT & T doesn’t tell you that if you want better 3G coverage then “you” should pay for the cell tower.

    • Moe

      Because they want “special” privileges thats all. The rest of the World is ok with Regional servers for their service.

      North America, Europe and middle east, Asia, Latin america, each with their own BES/BIS. If ANY country wants special location (for privileged access) they should pay for. No matter if that country is the UK, Japan or UAE.

      • Moe

        Since you mention AT&T, if you want your own cell station you can have it, its called femtocell and AT&T will charge you for it.

    • Chut Pata

      “AT & T doesn’t tell you that if you want better 3G coverage then “you” should pay for the cell tower.”

      Huh? But they do. You certainly are not with AT&T, or for that matter with Verizon, otherwise you would have known what fem2cell is.

    • Legendary

      Moe and Chut Pata … femtocell is a base station for about 5-6 cell phones not a fucking full functioning cell phone tower which is what I was talking about in my post !!! Seriously get your heads of your ass and learn how to read before you start to shoot shit out of your your mouths. Furthermore femtocell is still under review itself.

      http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20100309/FCC_WI
      RELESS_REGULATIONS/100309949/cellphone-signal-booster-comments-point-fingers-at-carriers

      And Moe it is not fucking “special privileges” … its the law in those countries now which requires all forms of communication to be subject to monitoring “if and when required”…. just because every other country is okay with having their data encrypted and shipped of shore to some “regional servers” which are still out of their territorial boundaries does not mean UAE and the Saudis have to be fine with it as well.

      • Zack

        Well, that link does not question the femtocells sold by the carriers themselves. It only questions devices that repeat the signal of a carrier without permission.

        Verizon has a “Network Extender”
        AT&T calls their device a “MicroCell”
        Sprint sells the “Airave”

        I happen to be a customer told to buy one from my carrier and I know at least one person from each of those carriers who has had to purchase an official femtocell. We were each told to buy one, suffer, or switch. Pay for a lack of service, pay for a new smartphone, or pay for a femtocell.

        You are right that the countries are well within their rights to interfere with the services of any company they wish in order to enforce local laws, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world will play nice and accept it with a sweet smile and open arms. RIM doesn’t provide governments with that kind of access, so yes it is “special privileges” that no other country receives from RIM. It may not be special under local law, but it is special when looked at from a global standpoint. Sadly, those special privileges are now the cost of doing business as you said. RIM may just have to go without doing business there if they want to maintain their policies.

    • Bill

      BIS/BES servers are for businesses who provide – but still own – phones for there employees NOT for sketchy governments that don’t like the idea of the local citizenry having absolute privacy during conversations. RIM doesn’t pay for BIS/BES servers. The corporations do. And it’s quite costly I might add!

      This is as stupid as the China/Google problem. These psuedo-democracies say they are all free until you offer the people a device that gives them nearly absolute privacy, then their true colours show.

  • The Truth Genius

    This is exactly why i use a blackberry – security is important…big brother is watching…god bless you RIM

    • Max

      By ‘big brother’ you mean RIM, right?

      • Bill

        RIM cannot read the messages either. Thats one of the reasons people love Blackberries.

  • Hold up wait! My EVO has super powers!

    blackberry is dead! It’s Android itches!

  • Max

    More proof BB is for morons and is losing market share.

    • Mr. Bill

      Max, are you one of them “Metro” boys, I bet you are, and secretly wearing your sisters panties and flailing about with a silicone wrapped phone in your hand.

      Hurry back, The Silly Parade is looking for you now, and don’t, wander off again.

  • Chut Pata

    There is no privacy in the USA after Dubya’s infamous Patriotic Act took all our civil liberties. All KSA and UAE want is Blackberry to allow them to eavesdrop on their citizen like they allow US government to. Anyone who thinks Americans have privacy, is a bloody idiot. Privacy is an illusion given to us by our government. They tap our phones, they read our email, they read our emails, they see our bank statements, they our credit card statements, they even see what books we issue from the library.

  • Steve

    Now they’re stating visitors’ BlackBerry’s will also be censored from using e-mail, BBM, etc.. What this tells you is that when you roam in the ME they are intercepting all of your communications.

  • Black Sheep

    I think, that there are more reasons than only national security, but it is the main issue.

    I would be affraid, if the country that needs the patriot act to be secure, but isn’t even secure; and if this country that can monitor more or less everything, is a neighbour country to where the data of UAE citizens is kept “secret”. If the us government wants to, i think they can enter the data without problems, so if i were a politician in the UAE, i would suggest the same thing. It’s safer for your country, if the US has NO access to your data.

  • Black Sheep

    I think that i know at least a little bit about it. Only the 2 devices should be able to read the “cleartext”, every other party would only be able to read a lot of signs, at maximum. And you think the US can’t encrypt it? You my friend, do not know how intelligence work is done.
    And if i am correct, blackberry does keep some data, and the US is still a neighbour of Canada.

    • Bill

      RIM Themselves can’t tap the encryption either. Thats one of the reasons why the BB Security is so bangin!

  • Black Sheep

    If you are happy in your little world, where every american citizen has his own real freedom and his privacy, than i won’t waste my time to show you realiy. Continue to live in the Matrix…

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