BlackBerry Disruption May Have Affected MilliBlackBerry Disruption May Have Affected Millions (Update1)
By Gwen Ackerman
April 18 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry service experienced disruptions in North America and other parts of the world, affecting an unspecified number of the company's 8 million subscribers. The company hasn't provided a timeframe for when the service might be restored.
``Please be advised that we are currently experiencing a service interruption that is causing delays in sending and receiving messages,'' said a recording on a customer service number in Vancouver, Canada. The company ``will provide updates as soon as they become available.'' Officials at the Waterloo, Ontario-based company could not be reached for comment.
The disruption may be limited to North America, with some problems in other parts of the world for customers who receive their e-mails through North American servers. Mobile-phone companies in Asia and Europe said they haven't experienced problems. Research In Motion had about 8 million subscribers at the end of the fiscal fourth quarter ended in February.
Before today, shares of Research In Motion had gained 2.7 percent in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.
`Paralyzing'
General Motors Corp. spokesman Chris Preus, who is based in Detroit, was one of several U.S.-based participants on a press trip in China who had intermittent or blacked out BlackBerry coverage today.
The BlackBerry service is ``the only way I have to communicate,'' said Preuss, who was in Liuzhou, China, for a press trip of a General Motors joint venture factory. ``When I lose it, it's paralyzing.''
NTT DoCoMo Inc. hasn't received any reports about problems with the BlackBerry service, spokesman Masanori Goto said by phone. Taiwan Mobile, which carries the BlackBerry service in Taiwan, had no reports of problems, said Shirley Zhu, a spokeswoman for the Taipei-based operator. Vodafone spokesman Mark Pursey said the company's BlackBerry customers weren't having any technical problems. Vodafone is the biggest European wireless operator.
Research In Motion had 45 percent of the U.S. market for advanced phones with features such as e-mail in the fourth quarter, according to Framingham, Massachusetts-based researcher IDC. Sunnyvale, California-based Palm Inc. was second with 18 percent, while Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola Inc. had 12 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Gwen Ackerman in Jerusalem at gackerman@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 18, 2007 07:11 EDT
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