The United Arab Emirates granted a reprieve to its Blackberry users as the country will not implement a ban that was expected to take effect Monday.
The move was decided in a statement by the state news agency WAM that said that all Blackberry services would continue to operate after Monday, despite the initial plans of blacking out the networks. The state regulatory authority for telecommunication services also released a statement saying that all services would continue unhindered in the country.
Some estimates put the total number of handset users in the UAE to be around 500,000 and Research in Motion, the owner of Blackberry services, was not ready to do away with a substantial customer base. The company first entered into negotiations with the Emirati regulatory authorities three years ago when there was a talk of security concerns.
RIM was asked to trim its services and allow the Emirati authorities to keep surveillance on data, a request that was rejected by the company thus resulting in an ultimate ban. The company uses encryption technology that makes it difficult for the regulators to monitor user activity. Blackberry utilizes offshore data processing and storage centers that further put the national security at risk as surveillance becomes impossible.
There were reports of concessions being made by RIM in order to keep its services from banned in the UAE but no details have been revealed yet. Blackberry services have come under fire in dozens of courtiers where governments have raised concerns about its data security and surveillance.
