Dubai: UAE telecom operators Etisalat and du are offering compensation for the disruption in Blackberry services to their customers.
Disruptions in BlackBerrry services were reported on Wednesday, but some users reported that they have been receiving mail and communications.
du said, it is offering a 3 days free service for all existing Blackberry subscribers, “as gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience caused” including BlackBerry Social (Prepaid) = Dh1.5 x 3 days = Dh4.5, BlackBerry Social (Postpaid) = Dh1 x 3days = Dh3, Unlimited National BlackBerry service (Post and Pre) = Dh4.33 x 3 = Dh13 and Unlimited international BlackBerry service (Post and Pre) = Dh8.66 x 3 = Dh26 per user.
The free credit will also be applicable for BlackBerry customers enjoying free BlackBerry service (under the 6 months offer).
For both individual and enterprise customers, free credit will be added in the customers’ bills (for Postpaid) or in the More time balance account for prepaid users.
Postpaid customers will receive the credit on their next bill, while Prepaid users will receive the credit within the next 3 days.
According to Research in Motion (RIM) - manufacturers of Blackberry, the messaging and browsing delays being experienced by BlackBerry users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina were caused by a core switch failure within RIM's infrastructure.
Although the system is designed to failover to a back-up switch, the failover did not function as previously tested. As a result, a large backlog of data was generated and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service as quickly as possible.
Etisalat, meanwhile, has announced that it will reimburse BlackBerry users for the downtime lost since Monday.
Mathew Willsher, Chief Marketing Officer, etisalat told Gulf News this morning that BlackBerry services are still hit and miss with some customers and that the UAE telecom acknowledges the frustration users are feeling.
“It’s intermittent, it’s up and down,” he said in an interview.
There will be compensation, though, for the lost time.
“BlackBerry users will receive the equivalent of three days usage on their monthly service fee,” Willsher said at the etisalat stand at Gitex. “They will be adjusted on their monthly bll.”
He called the Research in Motion problems an “exceptional circumstance.”
The problems stem from an initial BlackBerry blackout that started around 2pm Dubai time on Monday which affected Europe, Middle East and Africa and then spread to other countries on Tuesday.
Research in Motion has apologised for the inconvenience.
BlackBerrry officials couldn't be reached for comment on Wednesday.
