BlackBerry Messenger service spared, Tifatul says

JAKARTA. Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring on Wednesday reassured the Indonesian public that the government would not kill off the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service.

Tifatul made the comment after the Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory Body (BRTI) made threats to terminate BBM service in response to last December’s decision by the smartphone’s manufacturer, Research in Motion (RIM), to build a server in Singapore rather than in Indonesia.

The decision was the second time that RIM has turned its back on the Indonesian government. It officially unveiled its new factory in Penang, Malaysia, in June last year — despite the fact that BlackBerry sales were 10 times larger in Indonesia.

The BRTI stated last December that the government could end all BlackBerry network services and vowed to make the smartphone “just like other ordinary cell phones”, describing RIM’s actions as “not cooperative to the Indonesian government”.

Speaking after his meeting with lawmakers from the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Tifatul defended RIM and its BBM service, which has been seen as a “must-have application” among middle-class Indonesians.

“No, we don’t have that plan,” said Tifatul when asked on the possibility that the government could end the service on all BlackBerry smartphones.

“BlackBerry is a must for the Indonesian public because here it has 5 million users,” he added.

The BBM service is viewed as the major factor in BlackBerry sales remaining robust in Indonesia. Many BlackBerry users throughout the country have felt reluctant to switch to other brands, due to the usefulness of the application.

Globally, however, the product is struggling to compete with Apple and Android smartphones.

Until recently, RIM had failed to launch a customer-friendly software platform to challenge the dominance of Apple and Android. The BlackBerry Playbook tablet computer — the company’s major breakthrough in 2011 — was also deemed a flop.

Reports circulated on Tuesday that Samsung, whose smartphones mostly use Android software, planned to purchase RIM as part of its campaign to dethrone Apple as the market leader in the US.

On Wednesday, Samsung rejected the rumors and claimed that it had no interest to buy the ailing Canadian company.

Nasdaq-listed RIM shares tumbled 5.3 percent to US$16.55 in extended trading following Samsung’s statement.

Despite building factories and plants outside Indonesia, RIM’s East Asia managing director Gregory Wade said the company was committed to Indonesia and valued the support for the company continued investments.

“A recent outcome of such investments is that the many BBM-connected apps have been created and marketed by talented Indonesian-based developers,” Wade was quoted as saying in RIM’s official reply to Tifatul’s statements.(The Jakarta Post)