Update: Vodafone acknowledges Blackberry service issues

BRITISH MOBILE OPERATOR Vodafone has admitted that it is aware of network problems affecting some of its Blackberry customers and is investigating the cause.

An update on the firm's forum pages posted on Friday morning said it was working with Research in Motion (RIM) to try to resolve the problem.

"We are aware that some Blackberry customers are experiencing issues," it said.

"Vodafone is working closely with Research in Motion (RIM) to restore full service as soon as possible. As soon as we have further information we will provide further updates."

The INQUIRER contacted RIM for comment but had received no reply at the time of publication. A message on its UK Twitter page aknowledged the issues, though.

Vodafone service issues are impacting some BlackBerry customers in Europe, Middle East & Africa. We are supporting their efforts to resolve.

— BlackBerry UK (@UK_BlackBerry) January 11, 2013

The INQUIRER tested a corporate Blackberry account on Vodafone this morning and was receiving full service. However, scores of customers took to Twitter to complain about lack of service.

Blackberry down AGAIN, annoying

— Stuart (@StuartCamp) January 11, 2013

The incident comes at an awkward time for RIM as it prepares for its make or break launch of the Blackberry 10 mobile operating system on 30 January. This is seen by many in the mobile market as the firm's last chance to stem an exodus of customers to rivals such as Apple and Android.

UPDATE (15:00 GMT): Vodafone has admitted the error was caused by a router and affected services across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

"Services are in the process of being restored and we continue to monitor the situation closely," it said in a forum posting.

"We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused and we will provide updates as necessary." µ

This article was originally published on V3.