Dubai Airport Pax Face Ban on BlackBerry Use

The United Arab Emirates’ ban on BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web browsing services will extend to foreign visitors too, said the country’s telecom regulator, reported the Associated Press (AP). The ban is scheduled to take effect on October 11. The ban will apply to travelers in and passing through Dubai, the busiest airport in the region.

The UAE’s telecommunications regulator said that because of security concerns, visitors and the some half-million local subscribers will have to learn to live without BlackBerry messaging, e-mail and Internet, according to Time magazine. “The Emirates, and other countries such as India and Kuwait, have long battled with Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian company that makes the BlackBerry, over the device’s encryption, which makes it virtually impossible for governments to monitor the content for politically or morally objectionable material.”

The UAE contends some BlackBerry features operate outside the country’s laws, said the AP report, “causing judicial, social and national security concerns.”

Unlike rivals Nokia and Apple, RIM controls its own networks, which handle encrypted messages through centers in Canada and the UK, explained a Reuters article.

The device maker Research in Motion Ltd. has so far declined to comment.

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, reported AP.

Saudi Arabia announced it would halt BlackBerry service at the end of the week, according to reports.