Vodafone: 'All BlackBerry services have gone down'

Some BlackBerry users are experiencing total service outage according to warnings issued by service provider Vodafone this morning.

A RIM statement on Facebook reads, "We are currently experiencing a BlackBerry service issue impacting some users in Europe, Middle East & Africa. All relevant support teams are working to resolve the issue. We apologise to any customers who may be affected."

An alert to users issued by a representative at Vodafone's key accounts department this morning reads: "I just wanted to make you aware of an issue we are experiencing with BlackBerry at the moment... As far as we can tell all BlackBerry services have gone down. This is a RIM issue and is affecting all devices across all networks. We haven't had any official communication from RIM just yet, however when we do get more information I will let you know the details."

When Computing asked a BlackBerry spokesperson to confirm the extent of networks and geographical service areas affected, they said the company is "not sure" on either count.

A BlackBerry user with an Orange network subscription confirmed to Computing that there are no visible problems with the Orange service.

The service outage represents another blow for RIM and its BlackBerry brand, which is struggling in an increasingly competitive smartphone market.

A recent Computing survey showed that only 14 per cent of enterprise smartphone users count a BlackBerry as their primary device.

The company made 5,000 job cuts in June, prior to the delayed release of the BlackBerry 10 handset.