Saudi Arabia to test fix to avert BlackBerry ban
Article Update:
Earlier Post:
Saudi Arabia
told the kingdom's telecom operators on Saturday to test a proposed fix to the perceived national security threat posed by Research In Motion's BlackBerry
smartphones, and said it would not ban service if the test was successful.
RIM has come under increasing scrutiny from countries including India, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Algeria that want access to the Canadian company's encrypted network so they can monitor messages they say might signal a potential security threat. RIM had said earlier in the week that third-party access to its network was impossible.
On Saturday, the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission said it gave the three telecom operators -- state-controlled Saudi Telecom 7010.SE, Mobily 7020.SE and Zain Saudi Arabia 7030.SE -- 48 hours to try out "the proposed solutions and fulfill the requested regulatory requirements."
CITC said it would decide whether to allow the service to continue or not "depending on the results achieved by the service providers."
Using local servers would give the Saudi authorities better access to messages that have been handled exclusively through servers in Canada and the United Kingdom. With about 700,000 BlackBerry users, Saudi Arabia is RIM's biggest Middle East market.
Neighboring UAE, with 500,000 users, has proposed a ban starting Oct. 11 targeting email and Web browsing, as well as the Messenger service, on the device. The U.S. and Canadian governments have recently expressed concern about the implications of banning such services.
Saudi Arabia and the makers of the BlackBerry have reached a preliminary deal on granting access to users' data that will avert a ban on the phone's messenger service in the kingdom, Saudi officials said Saturday.
The agreement would likely involve placing a BlackBerry server inside Saudi Arabia to allow the government to monitor messages and allay official fears the service could be used for criminal purposes, the telecom regulatory officials said.
Earlier Post:
Saudi Arabia
told the kingdom's telecom operators on Saturday to test a proposed fix to the perceived national security threat posed by Research In Motion's BlackBerry smartphones, and said it would not ban service if the test was successful.
The government had threatened to cut off BlackBerry's Messenger function to Saudi users on Friday, but so far has allowed the service to continue.
RIM has come under increasing scrutiny from countries including India, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Algeria that want access to the Canadian company's encrypted network so they can monitor messages they say might signal a potential security threat. RIM had said earlier in the week that third-party access to its network was impossible.
On Saturday, the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission said it gave the three telecom operators -- state-controlled Saudi Telecom 7010.SE, Mobily 7020.SE and Zain Saudi Arabia 7030.SE -- 48 hours to try out "the proposed solutions and fulfill the requested regulatory requirements."
CITC said it would decide whether to allow the service to continue or not "depending on the results achieved by the service providers."
Using local servers would give the Saudi authorities better access to messages that have been handled exclusively through servers in Canada and the United Kingdom. With about 700,000 BlackBerry users, Saudi Arabia is RIM's biggest Middle East market.
Neighboring UAE, with 500,000 users, has proposed a ban starting Oct. 11 targeting email and Web browsing, as well as the Messenger service, on the device. The U.S. and Canadian governments have recently expressed concern about the implications of banning such services.
