United Arab Emirates won’t ban BlackBerrys


8 Oct 2010

Following talks with BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion, the United Arab Emirates has pulled back its plans to ban BlackBerry services.

Services were due to be suspended on 11 October, but the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has confirmed its satisfaction with devices compliance with its security needs, BBC News reported.

“All Blackberry services in the UAE will continue to operate as normal and no suspension of service will occur on October 11, 2010,” the authority said in a statement.

BlackBerrys posed a risk, the authority said, because the network was encrypted and data stored abroad.

The authority also acknowledged “the positive engagement and collaboration of Research In Motion (RIM) in reaching this regulatory compliant outcome”.

Tina Costanza