Dubai and Saudi Arabia to Block BlackBerry Messaging
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
In my opinion no in their right minds should never ever reveal publicly what their security apparatus can't do. They might as well have shot themselves in the head.
Moreover, what was telling was the fact that there are now mandatory background checks before you can own a blackberry. On the other hand, I am pretty sure that they must have bought the technology by now.
What makes me doubt it even more is that this is a security establishment in which it's an open secret that people "accidently" burn files in order to prevent implication (I've seen the fires. One of the intelligence records buildings was next to my mother's office). The core intelligence group is quite lean and sophisticated, but a lot of the establishment is just corrupt bureaucrats on the take.
The two carriers (Etisalat & Du) have pushed them heavily here. They allow young people to talk to each other without actually talking - which would be taboo.
If you go anywhere in the UAE, nearly all you can see is BlackBerry's. People spend more than half of their time messaging each other, email or otherwise.
I think the Gulf states are trying to apply their power to make RIM play their game. The states will succeed if RIM thinks it's a worthwhile market to stay in.
It'll eventually get lifted I imagine, there was a similar think with cameraphones that was ineffectively enforced years back in kingdom.