BlackBerry gives in, finally
It was also decided that the Department of Telecommunication would study the feasibility of all such services being provided through the server in India. The Home Ministry will review BlackBerry security issues in 60 days.
BlackBerry got the short end of the stick from the Indian government after the government imposed a deadline of August 31 to RIM and asked it to come up with a solution to share encrypted data or shut shop.
The government was worried that militants could misuse BlackBerry's heavily encrypted services. There are nearly 1 million BlackBerry subscribers in India and 41 million worldwide.
It was crucial for RIM to strike a deal with the Indian government given the lucrative market here and also because the company closed at a 52-week low on Friday at $45.99 in New York. RIM had earlier said it has no means to unlock encryption codes of clients.
BlackBerry gives in, finally
Earlier, mobile phone major Nokia on Monday said it would activate its Indian server for routing data for messenger services from Nov 5, adding its services have been cleared by security agencies.
"Our server for the messenger services will be active in the country by November 5," said D Shiva Kumar, vice president, Nokia India, on the sidelines of a mobile phone launch event here.
BlackBerry gives in, finally
The company tried to allay any fears that its messenger services could meet the same fate as BlackBerry and come under the security agencies' scanner. "We had met Home Ministry officials about a month ago. Our services are safe," said Kumar.
BlackBerry gives in, finally
The BlackBerry controversy seemed to have helped Nokia. Industry sources say sales of the Finnish firm's smart phones have risen due to the fear that BlackBerry users may not be able to send messages on its encrypted network anymore following a crackdown by Indian security agencies.
Source: The Indian Express,Agencies