UAE offers cheap iPhones, Blackberry Users not switching

Since their announcement that they would be banning Blackberry services in the region from October 11th, anyone following the story will have been wondering whether the 500,000 odd Blackberry subscribers in the region would go. For those who aren’t aware of the issue, the UAE are calling the Blackberry Internet Service (the way in which all data on a BB is routed), a security threat after recent (at the time) so-called planned terrorist accounts.

Despite offering extremely cheap Apple iPhone plans to entice users to switch from their Blackberry to an iPhone, nearly all of the 500,000 users in the region believe a deal will be struck with Research In Motion which in some way will cater to the UAE’s demands to be able to monitor all data transmitted through the Blackberry Internet Service (the servers are located abroad).

“The number of subscribers in BlackBerry has not decreased. It hasn’t been affected yet,” said an Etisalat executive with access to subscriber data.

“We are one of the biggest markets for BlackBerry in the Middle East and I am sure a deal will be reached with RIM.” The Etisalat executive also added the possibility that the deadline was not fixed in stone and could be extended if a final agreement was not reached by October 11.

Saudi Arabia & India also threated to cut off their BlackBerry services but reached an agreement with RIM and whilst both UAE operators – Etisalat and du – offered alternative smartphone options (including Nokia devices, Android devices & the Apple iPhone), the BlackBerry remains popular amongst the country’s youth for its social network and indispensable to its business & financial communities.

Source: Reuters

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Category: Opinion