BlackBerry Services to remain uninterrupted as government reaches a deal

An article by Bilal    1 Comment

Last week we saw a huge hype over governments planning to ban BlackBerry’s Internet Services. (Saudi Arabia announces ban) It started with United Arab Emirates announcing  a ban over all the internet services (which is still due in October) and Saudi Arabia following suite by placing a nation wide ban on the IM. The ban did come into effect this Friday, but whether the ban was fully implemented or not, it is yet to be confirmed. There have been mixed reports of people still having access to the IM services. But it seems now it is all over as a deal has almost been finalized between RIM and Saudi Telecom Operators.

The Ban

The Ban came into effect in Saudi Arabia on Friday the 6th. However there was a great deal of confusion as some could people still access the IM Services. However it seems that the ban was lifted four hours later as many people, whose IM services were being barred, were able to use it again. This however has not been confirmed by the Telecom authorities. However it has been learned that RIM and Saudi Telecom has reached a deal.

An official with one of Saudi Arabia’s three licensed mobile operators told AFP news agency: “A deal has been virtually reached and we are in the process of adding the final touches.”

Deal ?

The details have not been released but it is widely believed that a server will be set up in the country through which the data will be routed. Before all the data was encrypted and routed through RIM’s Servers in Canada. A server in the country will allow the government agencies to monitor the data.

If this is true then this could provide a mean for all the other countries, including India and United Arab Emirates. This news however has to be confirmed by RIM themselves. RIM has always been in the favor of its customer’s privacy and unwilling to let the governments route the traffic through their own set up servers. But now it seems that RIM have no choice of their own. There are 700,000 BlackBerry Subscribers in Saudi Arabia alone and RIM can not afford to loose such high numbered customer base.