The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), the telecom regulator of the Kingdom, Tuesday ordered suspension of an unspecified BlackBerry service starting on Friday as the manufacturer of the devices has failed to meet its demands. “The way BlackBerry services are provided currently does not meet the regulatory criteria of the commission and the licensing conditions,” the CITC said in a statement. It said that it has asked the Kingdom's three providers – the Saudi Telecom Company, Mobily and Zain – to suspend the BlackBerry service starting on Friday after it had given them a grace period to get the manufacturer of the devices, Research In Motion (RIM), to “meet the regulatory demands.” It said that it had warned those companies over a year ago about the need to address the issue. The services will be banned until its demands are met, the CITC statement added. The UAE on Sunday said it will cut the key BlackBerry services of messenger, email and web browsing on Oct. 11 over security concerns and until they are brought in line with the country's regulations. BlackBerry has more than 700,000 subscribers in Saudi Arabia and 500,000 in the UAE.
