Saudi Arabia not to ban BlackBerry

Saudi Arabia has allowed Research In Motion (RIM) to continue BlackBerry services in the kingdom.

The initial ban on BlackBerry services was scheduled for August 6. Later, a second deadline for suspension was set for Monday midnight.

Saudi's telecommunications regulator on Tuesday said that it has decided against banning BlackBerry messenger services as phone companies operating in the kingdom have met some of its regulatory requirements.

Meanwhile, it has asked the Canadian company to put in place a system that will let the kingdom monitor the user data.

According to an emailed statement, the Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC), of the country has not specified the nature of the requirements.

The decision to continue BlackBerry services in Saudi gives Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM and the kingdom's three wireless companies more time to come up with a technical fix that will let the service meet local laws, said Saudi Press Agency.

Saudi Arabia's decision is being followed closely by other countries seeking similar access to the BlackBerry network.

RIM faces scrutiny over BlackBerry e-mail and messaging in countries including the United Arab Emirates, India and Indonesia.

Saudi Arabia has said it wants access to BlackBerry communications to prevent terrorism and illegal activities.

RIM has about 1.2 million subscribers in Indonesia, 1.1 million in India and 1.2 million in the UAE and Saudi Arabia combined. It had around 46 million subscribers globally as on May 31, 2010.