Blackberry blackout in Saudi Arabia

Not to be outdone by its neighbor to the east, Saudi Arabia followed the U.A.E. in banning the use of Blackberry services in the kingdom effective immediately.
The U.A.E. ban would take effect in October. Subscribers there were hopeful that a compromise could be reached to address the government's security concerns with Blackberry's encryption.

Saudi Arabia however did not wait, and subscribers are now reduced to using the devices to simply make.... phone calls! Many subscribers describe the reception and quality of Blackberry phones as very good.