BlackBerry hit by second day of data outages
A SERVER in Slough yesterday caused a second day of misery for BlackBerry users from South Africa to Chile.
Customers were forced to go without data services after the problems that caused outages throughout Monday resurfaced at around 11.45am yesterday.
Users across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Brazil, Chile and Argentina all had to go without Messenger, emails and mobile internet. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) yesterday blamed the fault on “a core switch failure within RIM’s infrastructure” that led to a backlog of data.
One source at an investment bank said its bankers were up in arms about being separated from their emails while out of the office.
Telecoms analyst James Barford, of Enders Analysis, said the incident could have lasting consequences for RIM. He said: “Valuable customers may now question their loyalty. It also makes you question the BlackBerry model, if a single point of failure can affect such a wide area.”
Clyde & Co partner Toby Rogers said it is unlikely users will be able to claim compensation but said networks may stand a better chance at recouping some of the lost data revenue.