Manama: Bahrain has no plans to block BlackBerry services, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) officials have said.
"There is no intention to suspend the service in Bahrain and we have no security concerns about them," Ahmad Al Dossari, head of communication and information technology, said.
Basil Al Arayyedh, head of consumer affairs, said Manama has discussed the issue with several capitals, but "saw no need for blocking the services".
The regulator in the UAE said on Sunday that BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry E-mail and BlackBerry Web-browsing services in the UAE will be suspended as of October 11.
Bahrain’s dismissal of any suggestion of a ban will come as a welcome statement for the country’s many users of communications technology. Bahrain's foreign minister, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, is one of the country's most famous users of Twitter, a social networking and microblogging service, posting sharp remarks and comments about a wide range of issues.
In April, a move by the then ministry of culture and information to subject the use of the device to share breaking news to official regulations was stalled following pressure from subscribers.
A ministry official attributed the decision to the "chaos and confusion caused by the posting of news by individuals who did not obtain official permission by the ministry prior to engaging in such activities".
News sources have been posting information mainly about political and social news, accidents and traffic police speed traps. Two local newspapers have been using the BlackBerry service to broadcast news.
