I get an error message when I try to download aps from the web. The message is, "A communication failure has occurred. The server may be busy, please try again later. If the problem persists contact the service provider". What I am trying to understand is this a browser setting problem or a service provider issue.

Assuming you are using the native BB browser, sounds more like a service issue than browser. Might help if you share what site you are trying to download apps from. Other users might try it and see if they get the same issue.

Well, this occurred when i tired downloading google mobile apps, the BB 4.5 os.