KUWAIT CITY, Aug 2: The Ministry of Communication (MoC) has no plans of stopping any BlackBerry services in Kuwait, a source at the Ministry revealed on Monday. Speaking to the Arab Times, the source said that the Undersecretary for the Ministry of Communication, Abdul Mohsen Al-Mazeedi had announced in June at the 19th Gulf Cooperation Council Ministerial Meeting for Post, Communication, and IT that BlackBerry’s Messenger service will not be suspended in the country. The source also added that the MoC has not received any request from Ministry of Interior (MoI) to stop the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service and that the MoI has denied eyeing the option.

It was said earlier in media reports that the MoI is considering the ban due to the fact that the service cannot be controlled by the Ministry of Communications or security authorities and hence, users of BlackBerry sets were taking advantage of the situation to spread rumors and call for strikes.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia has stepped up plans on Sunday to suspend key BlackBerry services due to “judical, social, and national security concerns.” BlackBerry Messenger, email and web browser from Oct 11 until maker ‘Research In Motion’ allows encrypted messages sent on the smart phone to be accessed.

Agencies add:
Crackdown
The Emirates’ looming crackdown on BlackBerry services will extend to foreign visitors, its telecom regulator said Monday, putting the government’s concerns over the handheld devices in direct conflict with its aim to become a business and tourism haven.
Travelers to Dubai and the important oil industry center of Abu Dhabi will — like local residents — have to do without BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web services starting in October, when the ban is scheduled to take effect.
It could also leave time-pressed business travelers hurrying through the region’s busiest airport in Dubai, many of them changing planes to destinations elsewhere, without access to the Web or their e-mail.

“I think it’s a very big step back. All developed countries in the world have it. Why should we not?” said Emirati BlackBerry user Maisoon al-Iskandarani, 24, who works at an international bank in Dubai. “How are you going to stay in touch with your clients and colleagues?”
Device maker Research in Motion Ltd. has so far declined to comment on the plan to suspend the services, which Emirati authorities announced Sunday.
The UAE contends some BlackBerry features operate outside the country’s laws, “causing judicial, social and national security concerns.” At the heart of their concerns is the way the BlackBerry handles data, which is encrypted and routed through RIM’s servers overseas, where it cannot be monitored for illegal activity.

Critics of the crackdown say it is also a way for the country’s conservative government to further control content they deem politically or morally objectionable. The smart phones enjoy a following not only among the region’s professionals, but also among tech-savvy youth who see their relatively secure communication channels as a way to avoid unwanted government attention.
The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority had left the question of phones run by foreign operators unanswered in announcing the ban, which is due to take effect Oct 11.
But in an e-mailed response to AP questions Monday, the regulator said the service suspension would apply to all users in the country, including visitors using roaming services on foreign BlackBerry phones.

Services
“Roaming for BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry e-mail and BlackBerry Web browsing will also be suspended,” the TRA said in its unsigned e-mail. “They won’t be able to use the mentioned services in (the) UAE as it’s suspended (in) the country.”
That would put BlackBerry service out of reach for business travelers and others passing through the Mideast’s busiest airport in Dubai, which averages about 100,000 passengers a day.
Dubai is a major commercial center, hosting the Mideast’s biggest port, and has emerged as the region’s financial capital and a popular tourist destination.

Its image as an easy place to do business has been tarnished, however, by a credit crisis that has left the emirate more than $100 billion in debt. Residents fear the BlackBerry crackdown won’t help.
“Dubai as it is doesn’t have a good reputation right now. Do you really want to add to that, so people say ‘even technology-wise they’re behind?”’ al-Iskandarani said. “If anything, they should bring in extra services.”
The UAE’s other six emirates increasingly rely on foreign visitors too. The UAE federation’s capital Abu Dhabi, while less well-known abroad than its flashier neighbor, is building ties with multinational firms, actively promoting tourism and investing heavily in its own aviation sector.
Smaller emirates, such as Ras al-Khaimah in the north of the country, are also trying to entice foreign businesses to set up shop.

The UAE has singled out BlackBerry devices for scrutiny before.
Last year, RIM criticized a directive by the UAE state-owned mobile operator Etisalat telling the company’s BlackBerry users to install software described as a service upgrade. Tests showed the download actually installed spy software on users’ phones that could allow authorities to access private information stored on the handsets. It strongly distanced itself from Etisalat’s decision and told users how to remove the software.
The TRA says there are 500,000 BlackBerry subscribers in the UAE.
Telecommunication officials in Saudi Arabia have also said they are planning to curtail use of the BlackBerry messaging service, but not other services on the phones. Other countries, including India and the Gulf state of Bahrain, have also raised concerns about BlackBerry messaging features, but have not blocked them outright.

Suspend
A Saudi telecoms company said on Monday that the kingdom’s regulatory authority ordered it to suspend key BlackBerry services, after a similar move in the United Arab Emirates.
“We have received a memorandum from the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) to suspend some BlackBerry services in August,” an official at one of the three Saudi telecoms companies told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity and asking that his company not be identified.
CITC “has ordered local operators to freeze the messenger function for BlackBerry users this month,” the Saudi Gazette said.
Local service providers have known for five months that the messaging service would be banned, the daily added, citing officials.
The three providers — Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Mobily and Zain — made it clear that the ban does not apply to e-mail service, the daily said.

On Sunday, one company executive had told AFP an order was “expected” from CITC to suspend BlackBerry’s popular messenger service in Saudi Arabia.
However, the services of BlackBerry in the ultra-conservative monarchy were still functioning normally on Monday, several users told AFP.
Companies have asked BlackBerry’s makers — Research in Motion Ltd (RIM) — to modify the messaging service to meet “official, private, social and educational requirements,” the daily said.
“RIM has informed the Saudi companies that it is modifying the service to meet requests made by officials in countries including the (Saudi) kingdom and France,” it added.
CITC officials were not immediately available on Monday for comment.

In March, the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan said authorities in the kingdom want to control BlackBerry’s messenger service and that the government could even shut it down. The report was never confirmed.
At the time RIM said it was investigating the case.
The neighbouring United Arab Emirates said on Sunday it will suspend key BlackBerry services from Oct 11 as they breach laws and raise security concerns in the Gulf business hub.
RIM and the Indian government were embroiled in a similar security row in 2008 and held talks about New Delhi’s security concerns.

India, which faces a strengthening home-grown Maoist insurgency and constant threats from Islamist groups, has become increasingly sensitive about the potential risks of new technology.
It unveiled tough new telecommunications rules last week for operators and retailers to tackle security issues.
The BlackBerry handset, which uses sophisticated encryption technology that authorities are unable to intercept and decipher, has more than 700,000 subscribers in Saudi Arabia, 500,000 in the UAE and about one million in India.