The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has said today that BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry E-mail and BlackBerry Web-browsing services in the UAE will be suspended as of October 11, 2010.
According to the authority, the suspension is a result of the failure of ongoing attempts, dating back to 2007, to bring BlackBerry services in the UAE in line with UAE telecommunications regulations. The suspension is set to have a significant impact as there is an estimated 500,000 BlackBerry users in the UAE.
The reasoning behind the suspension is that the TRA believe that, in their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE.
This is because BlackBerry data is immediately exported off-shore, where it is managed by a foreign, commercial organisation.
Both telecommunications operators – Etisalat and du – were also informed of the decision earlier today.
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