Research In Motion co-CEO Mike Lazaridis issued an apology Thursday to BlackBerry users affected by a massive service outage that has lasted since Monday, and he said service problems may continue.
"I apologize for the service outages this week," Lazaridis said in a 100-second video posted on the company's website and YouTube. "We let many of you down. But let me assure you that we're working around the clock to fix this. You expect better from us and I expect better from us."
"It's too soon to say that this is issue is fully resolved," he said, adding that service is approaching normal again in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa.
Lazaridis cautioned that users could see some "some instability" as RIM's system is restored.
"I'd like to give you an estimated time of full recovery around the world, but I cannot do this with certainty at this time. For those of you affected, I know this is very frustrating," Lazaridis said.
In a posting late Wednesday on its website, the Waterloo, Ont.-based company said service was "progressing well" with increased traffic in Canada, the United States and Latin America, but RIM said there are still some delays and service levels may vary.
The outage occurred after a "core switch" failed, as did a backup switch, leading to a large backlog of data.
BlackBerry users have been experiencing service outages since Oct. 10. Adrian Wyld/Canadian PressRIM's chief technology officer, David Yach, said messages coming into Europe from Asia and the Americas to BlackBerry users got backed up and started affecting BlackBerry users globally.
Outages for RIM's instant messaging service, email and internet browsing started at the beginning of the week in Europe and spread to Canada and the U.S. on Wednesday while the company scrambled to restore service.
"You've depended on us for reliable, real-time communications, and right now we're letting you down," RIM's chief information officer Robin Bienfait said in a message posted Wednesday on the company's website.
"We believe we understand why this happened and we are working to restore normal service levels in all markets as quickly as we can."
RIM shares closed down more than three per cent Wednesday as investors worried that the problem would undermine the BlackBerry's reputation for reliability.
The share price fell 87 cents, or 3.46 per cent, to $24.27 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
"I apologize for the service outages this week," Lazaridis said in a 100-second video posted on the company's website and YouTube. "We let many of you down. But let me assure you that we're working around the clock to fix this. You expect better from us and I expect better from us."
"It's too soon to say that this is issue is fully resolved," he said, adding that service is approaching normal again in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa.
Lazaridis cautioned that users could see some "some instability" as RIM's system is restored.
"I'd like to give you an estimated time of full recovery around the world, but I cannot do this with certainty at this time. For those of you affected, I know this is very frustrating," Lazaridis said.
In a posting late Wednesday on its website, the Waterloo, Ont.-based company said service was "progressing well" with increased traffic in Canada, the United States and Latin America, but RIM said there are still some delays and service levels may vary.
The outage occurred after a "core switch" failed, as did a backup switch, leading to a large backlog of data.
BlackBerry users have been experiencing service outages since Oct. 10. Adrian Wyld/Canadian PressRIM's chief technology officer, David Yach, said messages coming into Europe from Asia and the Americas to BlackBerry users got backed up and started affecting BlackBerry users globally.
Outages for RIM's instant messaging service, email and internet browsing started at the beginning of the week in Europe and spread to Canada and the U.S. on Wednesday while the company scrambled to restore service.
"You've depended on us for reliable, real-time communications, and right now we're letting you down," RIM's chief information officer Robin Bienfait said in a message posted Wednesday on the company's website.
"We believe we understand why this happened and we are working to restore normal service levels in all markets as quickly as we can."
RIM shares closed down more than three per cent Wednesday as investors worried that the problem would undermine the BlackBerry's reputation for reliability.
The share price fell 87 cents, or 3.46 per cent, to $24.27 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.