ABU DHABI // Services to BlackBerry users in the UAE were disrupted on Friday, with many unable to send or receive emails and texts or connect to the internet.
There was no message on the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) website about the disruption.
Customers who phoned the Etisalat customer-care centres heard an automated message telling them "… we are aware of the current problem and apologise for the inconvenience".
"If you are calling for the same problem, our technical team is working on resolving it at the earliest," the message added.
Rahat Hussain Khan, a computer engineer said: "I faced service disruptions today. I experienced problems about 3pm when I wanted to send an email and I couldn't."
Shahid Habib, an Abu Dhabi resident, said: "I tried several times to send an email from my BlackBerry but could not do that because services remained suspended."
On Friday night an Etisalat customer care worker said the disruption, due to technical problems and an upgrade, was over.
Last October, a system-wide failure of the service left tens of millions of frustrated BlackBerry users on five continents without email, messaging and browsing.
