BlackBerry Internet Service

The BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) is a service that provides BlackBerry smartphone users with access to Internet browsing, allows email messaging, instant messaging using the BlackBerry Messenger service, and more. The service also allows users to access POP3, IMAP, and Outlook Web App (not via Exchange ActiveSync) email accounts without connecting through a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES).^[1] The service is usually provisioned through a mobile phone service provider, though Research In Motion (RIM) (BlackBerry's developer) actually runs the service.^[1] This service uses RIM's proprietary push technology (in contrast with SyncML-based push technologies such as Funambol) to the BlackBerry devices over cellular carriers. BIS retrieves email from mail servers by polling a POP3 or IMAP server and offers additional synchronization capabilities, such as calendars or contacts for some webmail providers.

Outages

At 2011-10-10 10:00 UTC there was an outage in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, affecting millions of users.^[2] There was another outage just the next day.^[3] By October 12, 2011, the Blackberry Internet Service went down in North America.^[4]

Research in Motion has been attributing data overload due to switch failures in their two data centres in Waterloo in Canada and Slough in England as the cause of the service disruptions.^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Email setup and integration". Research In Motion.
2. ^ BlackBerry services collapse - Telegraph
3. ^ RIM explains BlackBerry downtime as outage spreads | Business of IT | ZDNet UK
4. ^ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-12/blackberry-maker-rim-still-clearing-data-backlog-vodafone-says.html?cmpid=bit
5. ^ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-12/blackberry-maker-rim-still-clearing-data-backlog-vodafone-says.html?cmpid=bit

External links

• List of BlackBerry Internet Service websites by individual carriers and country
• Blackberry Internet Service 4.1 features