Users all over North America are reporting that their BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) is currently offline. Apps cannot connect to the internet and web browsing is offline for many users. There seems to currently be no clear pattern, but numerous users all over the United States and Canada are filling up message boards.

Unlike other smartphones, BlackBerrys route their internet through Research In Motion’s (RIM) servers first. Since it looks like all carriers are having the problem, it is most likely (99% probably) on RIM’s end. Before the RIM bashing ensues, remember that outage problems affect every internet service provider. RIM’s BIS is no exception to the rule. However, I am sure everyone having the problem is desperately wanting it to be resolved as soon as possible. My heart goes out to everyone stuck without the internet on their BlackBerry but I don’t know when RIM is going to be able to get the service back online.

Until RIM releases an official statement, we will not know more than what users are reporting. At a time when RIM is having difficulties moving handsets and users have started to flock to the iPhone and Android OS smartphones, this certainly is not good news. If the service stays down for more than a day or two, customers are certainly going to be furious.

Part of the problem behind all of this is RIM’s decision to keep routing consumer BlackBerry internet traffic through its own server network. If its servers go down, all BlackBerry users lose their internet until they come back online. With other smartphones, internet connectivity is based on the carrier. Everyone loves to hate their carrier so its not like a temporary outage will hurt handset sales for the other smartphones. Unfortunately, because RIM is still building on a framework designed back when smartphones were in their infancy, it does not have the luxury of being able to justifiably blame carriers for internet problems.

Are you having a problem getting online with your BlackBerry? Shout out and leave a comment to let us know. I’ll keep you all updated as to what exactly is going on here when we learn more.