UAE to suspend Blackberry services from Oct 11

Abu Dhabi, Aug 1 (IANS/WAM) United Arab Emirates (UAE) telecom authorities Sunday said Blackberry services in the Gulf region will be suspended from Oct 11, citing security concerns.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said the Blackberry messenger, e-mail and web-browsing services in the UAE will be suspended because of the “failure of ongoing attempts, dating back to 2007, to bring Blackberry services in line with UAE’s telecommunications regulations”.

The decision was based on the fact that due to technical configurations, certain Blackberry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing “judicial, social and national security concerns”.

The region’s telecommunications operators - Etisalat and du - were informed of the decision Sunday, TRA Director General Mohamed Al Ghanim said.

–IANS/WAM