Independent BlackBerry customers across North and South America have been without email since 3:15 a.m., Research in Motion spokesperson Marisa Conway confirmed this morning to the Star.

“Some BlackBerry customers may be currently experiencing delays receiving email. Our technical teams are working to resolve this issue for those impacted. Phone services, browsing and PIN-to-PIN messaging are not impacted. We apologize for any inconvenience,” Conway said in an email from New York.

A Rogers spokesperson said the problem affects BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) customers, but not corporate customers who use BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES).

BES customers use add-on software to link to systems such as Microsoft Exchange through a corporate server.

Research in Motion Inc., which makes the handheld devices, is the source of the problem, Rogers spokesperson Odette Coleman told the Star. “We are pressuring RIM to solve ASAP.”

The problem affects “subscribers of the Americas. Multiple wireless carriers in the Americas are affected,” Coleman said.

(Source: Toronto Star)