Mobile-Net

500,000 BlackBerry users and plans for a more radical ban

A number of BlackBerry users in the Saudi port city and business center of Jeddah, said Saturday that the service had been working continuously since the return after suspension for four hours yesterday.

The Saudi telecommunications authority announced earlier this week it had ordered the mobile providers to block the main BlackBerry services or face a fine of $ 1.3 million from 06 August.

The regulator had said the suspension was due to "BlackBerry services how they currently provide does not meet the regulatory criteria of the commission and the licensing conditions."

email and data encryption BlackBerry are stored on servers in Canada, where RIM is based, which means that third parties such as intelligence agencies can not monitor the communications secure.

Number around 700,000 BlackBerry subscribers in Saudi Arabia, a conservative kingdom, which imposes a strict Islamic social code and a strict censorship of Internet services.

Saudi brief closure came five days after the United Arab Emirates also announced it would cut BlackBerry Messenger, email and web browsing services on 11 October due to security fears.

"I have a BlackBerry, but I'm happy the service will continue, I decided to buy another," he said, adding that "could give a friend as a gift. What I care about today is the fact that service will continue. "

Mashaal al-Yami, a manager of a private company, said: "It's been nerve wracking people for days. I am glad that the service will continue as I use it a lot."

CITC said last week its decision to suspend services was due to the fact that "BlackBerry services how they currently provide does not meet the regulatory criteria of the commission and licensing conditions."

Among the solutions is reported to install a local server accessible to the Saudi authorities, instead of the data that go directly to Canadian RIM servers.

The Okaz newspaper on Monday quoted a source technique in one of three Mobile Phone companies say the monarchy as the evidence "on the server and asked ... programs have been successful."

Another official of telecommunications also said that talks between CITC and RIM have ended in "reaching a solution acceptable to all parties", the newspaper Al-Shams.
RIM officials in Canada have not returned calls seeking comment on the talks.

The source said the two options to resolve the dispute were the servants of Saudi Arabia or a patch that will allow government access to data in cases affecting national security.

The regulator, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), did not say if he had begun to enforce the ban. Saudi Arabia is the largest market for RIM Middle East with around 700,000 users.

RIM faces pressure to open its network encryption to scrutiny by governments in circumstances affecting national security.

India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Lebanon and Algeria have expressed similar concerns that focus on access to communications sent through the device. Together, these markets represent about five percent of global customers the Canadian firm.

U.S. Governments and Canada have expressed concern about the implications of the prohibition of such services.

Al-Hayat newspaper's online edition said on Friday in a report of references that RIM could solve the situation in Saudi to find a server in the realm of communications handle some of the encrypted BlackBerry network.

On Thursday, the source said RIM "showed a degree of flexibility that has not been there in the last three months. Progress is being made. We began to discuss the technical aspects of the new set-up."

It is unclear how long the ban would last, if both parties are unable to reach a compromise on encrypted network for enterprise and government concerns. A technical solution could also mean a disruption of services.

"They should have done your research before allowing BlackBerry in the market," said Rayan BlackBerry user, a Saudi of 30 years.

Neighbors UAE has 500,000 BlackBerry users and plans for a more radical ban October 11 Messenger guidance not only, but also web browsing and email on the device.

 

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