Indonesia Lifts Partial Ban on Blackberry Phone Imports

­The Indonesian government has lifted a ban on imports of new variants of Research in Motion's BlackBerry phones after the company opened a customer service and repair center in the country. The government imposed the ban in June, although it only applied to new models released by the company that had not been previously approved for sale in the country.

"As of today, RIM regained its right to apply for certification for new models," Gatot Dewa Broto, a spokesman for Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Informatics, told the Jakarta Globe newspaper.

Adita Irawati, vice president of corporate communications at PT Indosat, said last month that the company had supported the governments efforts to demand a local repair center, as that would lower its customer care costs when dealing with the handsets.

The government estimates that the number of "legal" BlackBerry users may exceed one million by year's end.

On the web: Jakarta Globe

Posted to the site on 7th September 2009