Madam Medusa

it has to be though...doesn't it...? what will happen to everyone who bought blackberries, not like they will compensate them...and if you have an overseas package, say vodaphone, will they work here or not...?

MM, xx

Millhouse

We were laughing about this at work. Let's say you bought a blackberry last week and signed up to the Etishite blackberry plan (a year contact) - do you think they will charge you the breakage costs on the contract just to rub salt in the wounds?

The overseas ones would be blocked too for sure, unless that is the workaround so the locals can keep using BBM for illicit messages...

Madam Medusa

it's just ridiculous isn't it...

and will do bugger all to help encourage overseas business here if people can't even use their blackberries...

MM, xx

Millhouse

that's why it will be resolved. As much as I would love the service cut off, it won't happen.

It'll be typical's option (b) scenario.

Euc-

Like me

Bought it two bloody weeks ago!

Autonomy

I'm sure it'll be resolved - but as far as I know it would not affect overseas BBs - they would still work. It would basically be Itcostsalot and Duh! ceasing to offer the service to their own subscribers...

Millhouse

Does your contract have a 'change in law' provision? i.e. who bears the cost risk if it has to be broken due to becoming illegal?! If it's silent on the matter then I assume it's you...

Bigtaff

Bought my new one today

Fella who sold it to me in Jumbo said jack about this ban either! Not that he would, of course......

Seeing as Blackberry and its service is THE business service to have, I can't see the ban carried out, or at least not for long. It will have a MAJOR impact overnight.

Surely just blocking BBM would have been a better solution, thats what gets abused the most by the local girls / boys You only need take a look in the malls to see all the lads n lasses BBM'ing each other. They will find another way to communicate with each other, I'm sure.......

Millhouse

Oh mate... that is annoying.

the_red_sheep

Having bought a Blackberry and signed a 12 month contract with Etisalat a week ago its fair to say I'm reasonably pi$$ed off about this news. I'm also very suspicious that this has been in the pipeline for a while and that's why Etisalat have had a special offer on Blackberries for the last month or so. Presumably this change in service would be such a deviation from what I signed up for it would null and void my 12 month contract....

Bigtaff

Indeed :curse: Even though my firm is mostly paying for the handset, its still poo. They (the TRA) really are heading back to the dark ages with this decision! The internet itself on Blackberry is filtered to stop access to "certain" sites and anyone with a VPN isn't having their mail filtered either so what are they going to do about that?? Shut the internet down all together????? Crazy......

Millhouse

give it time...!

Millhouse

Now the Saudi's are at it... Where is the Ramadan love and peace?

Sunday, Aug 01, 2010

(Zawya Dow Jones)--Saudi Arabia's telecom watchdog has ordered telecom firms operating in the kingdom to stop BlackBerry messenger services later this month, am official said Sunday, hours after regulators in the United Arab Emirates said they would prohibit some BlackBerry services from October.

The Communications and Information Technology Commission, or CITC, issued a memo to operators asking them to block the service, the official, who asked not to be named, told Zawya Dow Jones. He declined to give a reason for the ban.

The United Arab Emirates telecom regulator said earlier Sunday it would prohibit BlackBerry instant messaging, email and Internet-browsing services starting Oct. 11 amid an ongoing dispute between Canada's Research In Motion (RIMM), the maker of the device, and U.A.E. officials over the monitoring of data.

Abdulrahman Mazi, a board member of state-controlled Saudi Telecom Co. (7010.SA) confirmed the watchdog's action to Dubai-based Al Arabiya television, adding that he hoped the move is "only a kind of pressure on [Blackberry maker] Research In Motion to take steps to provide information when needed."

Saudi Telecom alone has about 400,000 Blackberry users in the kingdom, while its other two rivals have about 290,000 customers in total.

-By Summer Said, Dow Jones Newswires; +966 546 842 373;

typical

They could force the telcos to stop offering Blackberry services altogether - it'd be just like Syria...

I don't know, but I love the journo's name!

Autonomy

Syria was a pain in the ass.... no BB at all... or indeed FB, Flickr etc.... the residents just all use VPNs though....