The heat is now on the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology over its ban on all new BlackBerry models, with the ministry being visited by a Canadian trade representative about the issue this week.
Meanwhile, an organization representing the nation’s information technology community questioned the ministry’s decision to target the popular smartphone for a ban.
In early June, the ministry announced that it had stopped issuing licences for all BlackBerry handsets because its manufacturer, Canada-based Research in Motion, had not yet opened after- sales offices in Indonesia as stipulated in a 2008 ministerial decree on the IT community. The regulation states that all phone producers must open an after-sales office when they begin selling products in the country.
Speaking about the ban, ministry spokesman Gatot S. Dewabroto said that he had met with the Canadian trade attache, Ross Miller, about the issue on Wednesday and hoped to resolve the issue by the end of the week.
Meanwhile, an organization representing the nation’s information technology community questioned the ministry’s decision to target the popular smartphone for a ban.
In early June, the ministry announced that it had stopped issuing licences for all BlackBerry handsets because its manufacturer, Canada-based Research in Motion, had not yet opened after- sales offices in Indonesia as stipulated in a 2008 ministerial decree on the IT community. The regulation states that all phone producers must open an after-sales office when they begin selling products in the country.
Speaking about the ban, ministry spokesman Gatot S. Dewabroto said that he had met with the Canadian trade attache, Ross Miller, about the issue on Wednesday and hoped to resolve the issue by the end of the week.
He said the embassy was serious about settling the issue as soon as possible so that it would not disturb trade relations between the two countries.
Gatot said that the ministry had wanted to set a precedent because BlackBerry had a big presence in Indonesia. He said many Indonesians were unhappy because they had to send their phones to Singapore for service if there was a major problem.
The Jakarta Globe has the news...
Previous posts:
