BlackBerry users across the Middle East, Europe and Africa were experiencing data disruptions on Friday in a fresh service outage that appeared to be related to Vodafone Group PLC's network and not Research In Motion Ltd's servers.
The outage, one of several that has affected BlackBerry users over the past two years, comes in the lead-up to the launch of RIM's new BlackBerry 10 phones on Jan. 30, devices the company hopes will halt sales declines and help stabilize the business after a year of arduous restructuring.
Although the service outage does not appear to be RIM's fault, the problem only seems to be affecting those using BlackBerrys, and not other smartphones. The problem can likely be traced to where Vodafone's network meets RIM's own proprietary global network of servers, which RIM says makes its services more secure, but also leaves BlackBerry users around the world vulnerable to occasional outages such as the one on Friday.
Vodafone, on Twitter and in a statement, acknowledged the outage and said it was working on fixing the problem.
"Vodafone can confirm that some BlackBerry customers experienced issues with their data services this morning in Europe, Middle East and Africa," Vodafone said in a statement. "The issue was caused by a router error. Services are in the process of being restored and we continue to monitor the situation closely We apologize to customers for any inconvenience caused and we will provide updates as necessary."
The most recent outage that was attributed to RIM's network occurred in September, 2012, further eroding confidence in the normally ultra-secure and reliable BlackBerry service that is depended on by corporations, governments and a growing emerging market consumer user base around the world. RIM's first major BlackBerry service outage happened in October, 2011, and was much more severe, affecting BlackBerry users around the world – alerting industry analysts to the possibility that operating its own proprietary data network could be a curse, as well as a blessing.
However, RIM spokesman Nick Manning said on Friday that the Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone maker's servers were operating as normal, although he did not know why the Vodafone network problems only seemed to be affecting BlackBerry users.
"All BlackBerry services are operating normally but we are aware that a wider Vodafone service issue is impacting some of our BlackBerry customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa," he said. "We are supporting Vodafone's efforts to resolve the issue as soon as possible."
A former RIM executive familiar with how RIM's global network interacts with wireless operators, but who did not want to be identified, said the problems are likely occurring where Vodafone's network links into RIM's network.
" It will be their relay links that meet the BlackBerry network," the executive said. "The carrier provides the links into the RIM network. So Vodafone (or their suppliers) have outages on those trunks, (which are) the cables between the Vodafone operation and RIM's operational "meet me" point of presence."
Vodafone is one of the world's largest wireless carriers, co-owning Verizon Wireless in the United States and operating a variety of massive telecommunications carriers in other parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and in India.
In other news on Friday, RIM shares were downgraded by the Bank of Montreal – a move that follows a flurry of both upgrades and downgrades in recent months that have made RIM's stock incredibly volatile.
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