Will the UAE BlackBerry ban go ahead? (page 1 of 2)

A statement from the UAE's telecommunications regulatory authority (TRA) confirmed that as of October 11th 2010, BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry E-mail and BlackBerry Web Browsing services will be suspended. The TRA said that the technical configuration of some of the BlackBerry services mean the devices are operating outside of the regulatory framework developed in 2007. There are currently an estimated 500,000 BlackBerry devices in the UAE.

UAE unable to break BlackBerry encryption

The data sent by users through these services is encrypted securely enough that governments are unable to access any information sent from the phones. The UAE and Saudi governments believe this represents a national security risk.

Commenting on the announcement TRA director general Mohamed Al Ghanim says: "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."

"We informed both Etisalat and Du that providing the option of alternative services to ensure the continuity of service from October 11 to its subscribers - both individuals and organisations - is the most important priority." Al Ghanim adds.

UAE providers look to alternative solutions

Responses from the UAE's telecom groups Du and Etisalat have predictably seen the service providers fall into line behind the regulator over the issue. "This is an important decision taken by the Telecommunications Regulatory authority and as a licensed telecom service provider we shall fully comply by this instruction," a Du statement reads.

Etisalat, the UAE's largest telecoms provider has announced a range of alternative measures that it is looking at providing for its BlackBerry subscribers, which can perhaps be taken as an indication of how seriously they are viewing the ban going ahead.

Etisalat customers who subscribed to the affected services on or before July 31 will have the choice of a range of free high-end devices or local minutes added to their current deals, the company has said. The devices on offer include the iPhone (although the model type is unspecified), the Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Wave, Nokia E72, N97, N900 or E66 and a number of Sony Ericsson handsets. Alternatively users can opt for bundles of free minutes, data usage or SMS/MMS packages.

Du has also revealed an alternative package for its Blackberry users. Customers will be given the choice of either an AED15000 discount from a new smart phone or improvements to their current deals, with free texts and free unlimited data packages thrown in. At a press conference to announce the details, Du CEO Osman Sultan explained that should an agreement between the TRA and Blackberry be struck, the deals will then be pulled. Sultan added that the firm currently has close to 100,000 Blackberry subscribers.

Sultan denies the ban will have a major financial impact on the company, arguing that customers will still need to use mobile phones and will require mobile email access: "The customers are still there and will still require needs as far as emails are concerned," he states.