Emiratis Will Keep Their Blackberries

The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, which had threatened to cut service to Blackberries on October 10, has announced that Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian firm behind Blackberry, is now in compliance with UAE requirements and that Emiratis will be able to continue using their Blackberries.

The UAE set the October deadline last summer when the Saudis were threatening to shut down Blackberry service (see earlier posts here).

Though the Emiratis get to keep their Blackberries, they presumably understand that the government may be reading their mail now.

It's Official: Saudis Lift Blackberry Ban

It's been widely reported since Friday's brief outage and then restoration of Blackberry service in Saudi Arabia, but now it's official: Saudi Arabia will allow Blackberry service to continue because it's making progress in negotiations with RIM about using Saudi servers.

Given that the UAE ban isn't set to kick in until October, there's certainly a chance that one will be negotiated too.

I suppose this is good news for Blackberry users, though it adds the potential that Big Brother can gain access to your data, so perhaps not.

What Did Steve Jobs Know and When Did He Know It?

Hmm . . .

With the threat of the Blackberry ban, the UAE is selling out of IPhones and IPads . . .

Saudi Blackberry Blackout Only Lasted Four Hours?

Saudi Blackberries did indeed cease functioning today — for four hours. Then the handsets started working again. Some reports suggested the ban would start at midnight. There have also been reports that the Saudis and Research in Motion (RIM) were near some sort of deal.

I'm signing off for the weekend; may all your Blackberries continue to work.

Gulf Blackberry Blackout to Begin Today, Maybe

Blackberries will go black either today or tomorrow in Saudi Arabia. (I can't explzain the discrepancy, but most sources make it today.) It doesn't sound as if Research im Motion (RIM) is willing to negotiate, at least in their Western public statements emphasizing everyone on the Internet uses encryption, but perhaps there's still room for a deal, since Saudi Gazette was expecting one as of Thursday night, and other Saudi sources seem optimistic.

Elsewhere, the UAE is still planning its cutoff in October. Lebsnon is now talking about joining the rush. Kuwait has already looked at the issue.

Bahrain is resisting: not only are they saying they won't ban the Blackberry, but the Crown Prince himself is Tweeting that "Decision to stop it is ignorant,short sighted and unenforceable."

I somehow can't see the key business centers of the Gulf — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi Arabia — simply shutting down one of the region's key networks, and one that is quite popular in the Gulf. I'm guessing it's a negotiating ploy, a game of "chicken," where both cars drive at each other head on to see who flinches. But it's an intriguing debate.