STEVE INSKEEP, host: NPR's business news starts with BlackBerry's deal with Saudi Arabia.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: Saudi officials reached a tentative deal with Research in Motion, the company that makes BlackBerry devices. This is according to the Associated Press. Last week, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates threatened to shut down the mobile email service unless the governments had the ability to monitor messages.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: The deal that's been made now reportedly involves placing a BlackBerry email server in Saudi Arabia, where Saudi authorities would have access to it. Up until now, the company has only operated secure servers in Western countries with stronger privacy protections. We have no word yet on whether a similar deal is in the works with the UAE.
The Associated Press reports that Saudi officials have reached a tentative deal with Research in Motion, the company that makes BlackBerry devices. Last week, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates threatened to shut down the mobile e-mail service unless the governments had the ability to monitor the messages.