The Indonesian government has threatened to ban Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Messenger and BIS services in the country following the company’s decision to install a server in Singapore instead of in Indonesia. “Because RIM has not been cooperative, it is possible that we will soon end BIS (BlackBerry Internet Service) and BBM service,” a member of the Indonesian Telecommunication Regulatory Authority BRTI told The Jakarta Post. “BlackBerry therefore, would just be like other cellular phones.” RIM told the Indonesian government it would build a “server or data center” in the country as one of four promises it said would be completed by December 31st, The Jakarta Post explained. Read on for more.
RIM has always said that it cannot provide governments with the ability to monitor BlackBerry Messenger , but Indonesia still appears to feel its citizens would be safer it a server was built within the country. “With the condition as it is now, we warn that the country’s users to be cautious about using BlackBerry because the data exchanged is not safe or cannot be guaranteed of its safety,” Heru Sutadi of BRTI said. A RIM exec said he was surprised by Indonesia’s comments. “We were surprised by the government comments we saw in the media,” RIM’s Managing Director for Asia Gregory Wade told The Jakarta Globe. “The [December 8th] meeting was very positive. We couldn’t imagine that the government would be so hurtful as to shut down our service. A lot of Indonesians use the BB to run their businesses as well as access their community.” Wade said RIM is working closely with the government on a solution but also explained that RIM has “not been advised of any specific requirements extending beyond what it has already satisfied.”
