U.A.E. backs off on BlackBerry ban

The United Arab Emirates backed off a threat to cut key services on BlackBerry smartphones Friday, just days before the ban was set to take effect.

The Gulf federation, home to the region's business hub and largest airport in Dubai, was planning to shut off BlackBerry messaging, email and Web browsing services Monday over security concerns.

Half a million local users and travellers with foreign BlackBerrys would have been affected.

The Emirates telecommunications regulator confirmed that a deal had been reached with Canadian device maker Research in Motion Ltd. that brought the devices into compliance with local laws.

"All Blackberry services in the U.A.E. will continue to operate as normal and no suspension of service will occur" as planned Monday, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM.

It wasn't clear what concessions, if any, the Canadian device maker made to avert the ban.

But the TRA, which has provided few details of what it is seeking, acknowledged "the positive engagement and collaboration of Research In Motion (RIM) in reaching this regulatory compliant outcome."

The wording of the statement suggested the reprieve was permanent.

TRA representatives were not available for comment Friday, the start of the local weekend. RIM didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shardul Shrimani, a telecom analyst at IHS Global Insight, said both RIM and the U.A.E. will probably want to keep the terms of any agreement they struck private.

'RIM has to be very careful'

He said RIM likely gave authorities some limited access to the encryption data they use to safeguard users' messages or will allow them access to its servers.

"RIM has to be really careful in what they actually provide to the government. I think they must have come to some sort of agreement where there's some limited access," Shrimani said.

RIM's co-CEO Jim Balsillie said last month that the company has no way of providing government officials with the text of encrypted corporate emails sent on its phones, but that it won't object if individual companies that use the devices hand over their encryption keys to authorities.

Balsillie said countries that want access to BlackBerry emails could theoretically set up a national registry where companies doing business within their borders would have to provide government officials with the ability to peek at encrypted messages.

The consumer version of BlackBerrys carries a lower level of encryption than the ones made for corporate clients. Emirati authorities would likely want the ability to access data from those phones as well.

While a number of countries, including India and Saudi Arabia, have threatened BlackBerry crackdowns in recent months, the U.A.E.'s proposed ban drew widespread attention because of the country's tough negotiating stance and its role as a highly wired, tech-savvy trade and transportation hub.

The country cited concerns that the phones' security features could be misused by terrorists and criminals. The U.S. government and some analysts say those concerns are legitimate.

But free-speech advocates have criticized the crackdown, saying it provides a convenient justification to tighten controls on the flow of information. U.A.E. censors already patrol the internet, blocking access to pornography and other sites deemed dangerous or offensive.

Shrimani said he was not surprised the Emirates relented in the end — particularly if they were able to wring out concessions from RIM.

A service ban "could have had a negative impact on their economy," he said. "So it really was in their best interest to stand back on this occasion."