BlackBerry to pull out of Pakistan over government surveillance

Smartphone and secure communications company BlackBerry will pull out of Pakistan by the end of the year over government intrusions into user privacy.

The Pakistani government has banned the use of the company’s BlackBerry Enterprise servers, which provide encrypted data and communications services to BlackBerry mobile phones.

BlackBerry will “exit the country entirely” on 30 December, when BlackBerry mobile phones within the country will cease to operate. Originally BlackBerry was due to pull out in November, but the ban on its servers was put back by a month by Pakistan.

BlackBerry chief operating officer Marty Beard said: “The truth is that the Pakistani government wanted the ability to monitor all BlackBerry Enterprise Service traffic in the country, including every email and BBM message. But BlackBerry will not comply with that sort of directive.

“We do not support ‘back doors’ granting open access to our customers’ information and have never done this anywhere in the world.”

Pakistan’s Telecommunications Authority ordered mobile phone operators and BlackBerry to cease using BlackBerry servers in July for “security reasons”. BlackBerry’s secure servers cannot be intercepted by the Pakistan government, meaning that messaging services, email and browsing can be obfuscated from snooping. But BlackBerry insists that it will respond to “lawful government investigative requests of criminal activity”.

Beard said: “Pakistan’s demand was not a question of public safety; we are more than happy to assist law enforcement agencies in investigations of criminal activity. Rather, Pakistan was essentially demanding unfettered access to all of our BES customers’ information. The privacy of our customers is paramount to BlackBerry, and we will not compromise that principle.”

BlackBerry has faced similar problems in the past in India, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. In 2010, BlackBerry services were banned within the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Bans were lifted in some states but with tightened restrictions.

For Pakistan, BlackBerry’s exit comes after a ramping up of government surveillance, which Privacy International said was an abuse of communications surveillance powers, including widespread internet-monitoring and censorship.

Powerful Blackberry Phone

Blackberry U.S. communications equipment in the " 911 incident " almost across the board paralyzed, but U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's phone BlackBerry functionality, successfully carried out the wireless Internet to receive real-time information on the disaster site, anytime, anywhere. In the United States set off a burst of blackberry craze. The U.S. Congress during the adjournment of the "911 Incident" rationing every Member of a "Blackberry", so that Members can use it to deal with affairs of state.

Subsequently, the portable e-mail device soon became corporate executives, consultants, and each of Wall Street businessmen standing electronic products. So far, RIM has sold more than 115 million BlackBerry, accounted for nearly half of the wireless business email services market.

What is BlackBerry?
Technically speaking, the BlackBerry is a two-way paging mode mobile mail system compatible with existing wireless data link.

BlackBerry name origin of
It appeared in 1998, RIM's brand strategy consultant, wireless email receiver huddled together in a small black standard English keyboard, looks like the BlackBerry surface of the capsules seed, played such an interesting name . Now, the BlackBerry key position arrangements is also one of characteristics.

Berry is not only a mobile e-mail business systems, domestic users familiar with similar functions of the business will have a WAP based MMS Technology MMS "and based on IMAP4.0 mail protocol" color e "and so on, but BlackBerry easier and safer technical characteristics make it play the leading role in North America.
"BlackBerry" (Black berry) mobile e-mail device is based on two-way paging technology. 

"Blackberry" mobile phone technology features
BLACKBERRY is a Canadian company RIM launched a mobile email system terminal, which features support for push e-mail, mobile phones, text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information services.The user can anytime, anywhere access to existing enterprise applications and systems in the inventory, products, and pricing data, and settlement of sales and business more efficient.Sales representatives wireless access to CRM systems, and to place an order at the scene, accelerate the sales cycle.