BlackBerry reported 'delays' with email service, cause under investigation
Research in Motion this afternoon confirmed that it is investigating an issue with its consumer email service, with some users experiencing email and communication delays.
The Ontario-based smartphone said in a statement that: "There is no system-wide outage", adding: "We are investigating reports that some users in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) have experienced delays".
But this may not satisfy many customers, who were left stranded without service for days last month.
In a move away from its own communications failure last month when a global outage left some users without email for four days, the BlackBerry maker updated its official Twitter account to let its users know.
Many have taken to Twitter and other social networks to complain that emails were not being received.
Last month, a failure in one of the company's datacenters in Slough, near London, caused a ripple effect worldwide, leaving many users without data access, including BlackBerry Messenger, email and browser functions, over a period of four days.
The company had been heavily criticised for its poor communication with its customers during the outage.
Over half of its 70 million users worldwide were estimated to have been affected by the outage, which spread initially from Europe through the Middle East, Africa, and South and Latin America. The United States and Canada were also affected.
Research in Motion's share price plummeted below book value this week, one of the greatest losses the technology world has seen in recent times. Reuters reported that the company's stock fell more than 4 percent in regular Nasdaq trading on Wednesday, closing at $18.05, the lowest closing prince since August 2004.
Update: A statement from Research in Motion (23:56 pm GMT) said: "BlackBerry services are currently operating normally in the EMEIA regions".
Related:
- First outage: Widespread disruption in BlackBerry crash across Europe, Middle East, Africa
- Second outage: BlackBerry service down again in Europe, Middle East, Africa: Twice in two days
- Further troubles: BlackBerry services woes hit United States, Canada in worldwide fault
- Statement: BlackBerry issues statement over downed services
- Aftermath: BlackBerry breaks wall of silence; describes current status in lay terms
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