New problems for Blackberry users

BlackBerry users are facing a new wave of disruptions to their smartphone service.

Research in Motion (RIM) - the firm behind the gadgets - today said some of its users in Europe were having problems with their service, with UK users reportedly among those affected.

It comes after a hardware failure left millions of people unable to access email, surf the web or use BlackBerry Messenger over three days in October last year.

In a statement released today, an RIM spokeswoman said: "We are currently experiencing a BlackBerry service issue impacting some users in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

"All relevant support teams are working to resolve the issue.

"We apologise to any customers who may be affected."

The spokeswoman said it was not clear what type of problems customers were facing or the extent of disruption for users in the UK.

Last year's problems were caused by the failure of a dual redundant high capacity course switch designed to protect BlackBerry's infrastructure.

RIM's shares fell to a nine-year low in June after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock, saying the company's challenges were piling up.

PA