BlackBerry smart phones maker Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM,RIM.TO), which has been under the threat of a ban for its services in India over security concerns, made certain proposals for the lawful access of its services by law enforcement agencies, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs said on Monday. The proposals would come into operation immediately, and the feasibility of these solutions would be assessed later.
The Ministry also said that it will review the situation within 60 days. The Department of Telecommunications is expected to submit its report by that time. The decisions were taken on Monday at a meeting, chaired by the Union Home Secretary, G.K.Pillai, and attended by representatives of security agencies and the Telecom Department.
Earlier this month, the Indian government issued an ultimatum to the Waterloo, Ontario-based company, allowing time until August 31 to satisfy the country's security concerns or have at least some of its services banned from operating in the country.
The Department of Telecommunications said that it would block encrypted BlackBerry corporate e-mail and messenger services if wireless companies do not enable law enforcement authorities to monitor those messages by the end of the month. Officials in India also maintained that the government has the right to monitor all voice and data communications in an unencrypted form under technology laws. However, the government has no problem with the company's consumer e-mail service as it can already scan those messages.
The Ministry said that the government had been in discussions with the company over the last few weeks on the issue of lawful access to the communications passing through RIM systems. The Department of Telecommunications would study the feasibility of all services being provided through a server located only in India.
The Ministry also said it has made it clear that any communication through the telecom networks should be accessible to the law enforcement agencies. All telecom service providers including third parties have to comply with this.
India is the latest in a list of countries that have recently considered blocking BlackBerry services due to security concerns. The United Arab Emirates has said that it will halt Blackberry Messenger, e-mail, and Web browsing starting October 11. Saudi Arabia had threatened to block these services, but later agreed to let them operate after the company agreed to set up servers there.
RIM has about 1.1 million subscribers in India and 1.2 million in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia combined. RIM has more than 41 BlackBerry customers around the globe. The stakes in India are high for the company since India is one of its fastest-growing markets. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, more than 600 million Indians use cellular phones, of which one million are BlackBerries. Hence, losing access to the Indian market would be of greater significance to RIM than losing other smaller markets.
RIMM is trading at $46.91, up $0.93 or 2.02%, on a volume of 7.25 million shares.
On the TSX, RIM.TO rose C$1.19 or 2.44% and is trading at C$49.53, on a volume of 1.09 million shares.
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