DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Saudi Arabia's telecom regulator says it is giving the country's mobile operators additional time to finalize a deal allowing BlackBerry messaging services to continue.
The kingdom's Communications and Information Technology Commission said in a statement late Saturday it is giving telecom companies a grace period of 48 hours ending Monday to test "proposed solutions" aimed at averting a ban.
Officials have told The Associated Press that the Canadian maker of BlackBerry, Research in Motion (TSX:RIM), has reached a preliminary agreement with Saudi Arabia that would allow the government some access to users' data, and that authorities were examining how such a system might be implemented.
RIM has declined to comment on the state of negotiations.
