Saudi Arabia: BlackBerry gets a reprieve... for now

Saudi Arabia's telecommunications regulator yesterday said that it would allow BlackBerry messaging services to continue in the kingdom, citing "positive developments" with the device's Canadian manufacturer.

The Communications and Information Technology Commission's announcement staves off a potential ban of Research in Motion Ltd's BlackBerry Messenger service in the country, a step officials had said was possible because of national security concerns.

It was not clear whether this decision was a temporary reprieve for the service or whether the threat to ban it was over.