Etisalat no comment on Blackberry 'bugging'

Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) declined to comment on Wednesday on a software update it sent to Blackberry users, which the device's maker said was an unauthorised surveillance application.

Canada's Research in Motion Ltd (RIM) said on Tuesday that software sent by the UAE's largest telecoms operator was not a BlackBerry Software Upgrade.

Etisalat had sent text messages to its Blackberry customers in the UAE in recent weeks prompting them to install software that promised to enhance the device's performance. Instead it led to problems such as heavy draining of the battery.

"RIM confirms that this software is not a patch, and it is not a RIM authorised upgrade. RIM did not develop this software application and RIM was not involved in any way in the testing, promotion or distribution of this software application," the Blackberry maker said in a statement.

Etisalat declined to comment when called by the news agency Reuters.

Hundreds of Blackberry smartphone owners in the UAE reported problems with their phones over the last few weeks after the update patch was sent out.

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