While the BlackBerry verdict has no doubt provided a breather to telecom operators, with DoT and the Home Ministry giving RIM 60 days to come up with a final solution, while temporarily providing partial encryption and setting up an industry forum to collectively work with the Indian government on security issues, direct market competitors like Nokia and Apple are busy making hay while the sun shines.
While Nokia was also in hot water recently over a similar issue of its messenger services not abiding by required Indian government security norms, a day before the BlackBerry verdict, the company announced its decision to set up a local server by September 5 for its messenger services. While this news has given it the green signal for its customers in India, the announcement was well-timed, causing a sudden spurt in its phone sales and two new dual-SIM low-priced handsets targeted at the masses in rural areas.
This is significant as the phone manufacturer was recently facing losses for its handsets, due to the rise in low-cost smart phones in the Indian market. According to Gartner, in the second quarter of 2010, Nokia's mobile phone sales reached 111.5 mn units, with a leading market share of 34.2 % in the non-smart phone market worldwide. In comparison, RIM sold 11.2 mn handset units in Q2 2010, with a market share of 18.2% worldwide, according to Gartner research.
When asked whether the decision to set up a local server was propelled by a similar fate to the BlackBerry, and whether local servers would also be set up in other countries for messenger services, Nokia responded with the statement, “Nokia is committed to protecting our users' privacy and maintaining their trust, while at the same time fulfilling our public responsibility and legal obligations. As a responsible corporate citizen, we follow all local laws and regulations that are required by the government authorities.”
Regarding changes that customers will see post this decision and what steps Nokia is taking to aid intelligence agencies post this announcement, a company statement issued said, “Currently the Nokia Messaging Service is in beta format. We have been working towards installing the requisite infrastructure in the country and will set up servers for our push email service by November 2010.”
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