The United Arab Emirates will suspend the use of Blackberry services in October, citing concerns about security risks, and affecting half a million users in the Gulf Arab state.
The UAE said it would halt Blackberry services on 11 October until an ‘acceptable solution’ is developed and applied.
Mohammed Al Ghanem, director general of the UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said: ‘Censorship has got nothing to do with this. What we are talking about is suspension due to the lack of compliance with UAE telecommunications regulations.’
The UAE objects to Blackberry data being exported offshore and managed by a ‘foreign, commercial operation’.
The regulator said Blackberry data services are the only ones operating in that method. The decision will not affect users of rival Nokia and Apple's iPhone smartphones.
Officials at Blackberry manufacturer Research In Motion
in Canada were not immediately available for comment.
The suspension of Blackberry Messenger, email and web browsing services comes after attempts dating back to 2007 to bring the service into line with regulations, the TRA said.
The UAE expressed concern last week that the device is open to misuse that poses security risks - a move some took as dissatisfaction with the inability to monitor the popular Blackberry Messenger service.
BlackBerry, which holds around 20% of the global smartphone market, behind Nokia but ahead of Apple, has an estimated 500,000 users in the UAE.
Blackberry is carried in the UAE by du telecom and Emirates Telecommunications, which said it would find an alternative for its clients.
