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The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on Sunday threw a lifeline to Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, saying it would be given time to establish a local office before the temporary ban on licensing its new models became permanent.

Ministry spokesman Gatot S. Dewabroto also said on Sunday that even if RIM did not move forward with opening an office, BlackBerry service would not be interrupted.

Without licenses, products cannot be imported to Indonesia, officials said. The ministry on Thursday stopped issuing licenses for new types of BlackBerry units until RIM opened a branch that could provide customers with after-sales service.

Ministry officials discussed their demands for a BlackBerry branch office with RIM’s vice president, Robert E. Crow, on June 15, but the company only promised to conduct a feasibility study.

The ministry said the temporary ban would continue, and urged RIM to get started on the study for a local office. Gatot said RIM also had the option of entering into a joint venture with a local company to provide service, and added that the country had qualified professionals who would be able to meet RIM’s standards.

Gatot said BlackBerry users should not worry that the central government might order telecommunications operators to halt BlackBerry service.

“The government will not make any policies that are counter-productive to the public’s interest, but it wants to protect consumers and it anticipates a rise in complaints by BlackBerry users,” Gatot said, adding that owners of the smartphones would benefit from a local office because they wouldn’t have to send their phones to Singapore for service.

Gatot estimated that the number of BlackBerry users may grow to more than a million by the end of the year.