UAE ambassador hopeful of BlackBerry resolution

Yousef al Otaiba, the ambassador to the US, is optimistic of a solution to the BlackBerry issue.

ABU DHABI // Yousef al Otaiba, the country's ambassador to the US, is optimistic an acceptable, regulatory-compliant solution to the BlackBerry issue will be developed and applied before the October 11 deadline to suspend services in the UAE. "We are still in talks with RIM. I think we are making good progress. And I think we'll reach a conclusion in the near future," he said, speaking at the second day of a diplomatic gathering of UAE ambassadors and heads of mission at the Emirates Palace hotel, organised annually by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority's (TRA) status remains the same. The agency's decision to suspend BlackBerry services as of October 11 is "final," according to a statement released this month. [e-mail]