Though the makers of BlackBerry, Research in Motion (RIM) would be heaving a sign of relief by making a narrow escape from the proposed Indian government ban threat, the move has brought heat to Internet search engines and Internet companies in India.
The Canadian firm recently got a 60-day reprieve from the government to continue services in the country, after it agreed to ultimately set up its server in India, to allow the Indian government to provide complete access to ultra-encrypted messenger and email services. RIM has been provided a two-month time frame to provide a permanent solution to avert a ban on its messaging services by the government.
RIM has also made certain proposals for lawful access by law enforcement agencies and these would be implemented immediately. The feasibility of the solutions offered would be assessed within 60 days. The review will be in 60 days, after the department of telecommunications (DoT) will submit its report on the solution.
This nod by RIM agreeing to set up its server in the country has brought companies like Google and Skype under fire in the country.
Following RIM's announcement to set up its server in India, the government has decided to serve notice to Google and Skype soon, asking for full access to monitor their messaging services, for security reasons. Skype, the Internet phone service and Google, which has a new phone feature built into its Gmail email service, are expected to be the next one in the government's file.
The government has asked the operating ISP in the country to ensure that the traffic passes through their servers located in India, which means that they should set up their server in the country. So, that the government would have an access to all the traffic which flows through these services.
Meanwhile, putting itself on the safe beds on time, leading handset maker Nokia has also cleared fears attached to its messenger services coming under scrutiny by the security agencies. Adding its services have been cleared by security agencies, Nokia has announced that it would activate its Indian server for steering data for messenger services from November 5.
Once installed, this will be only the third server outside RIM's headquarter, Canada, as Indian government believes that the smart phone maker has already a server in China and US, though RIM denies its server in the two countries. RIM has a total subscriber base of 41 million worldwide. Banning its messenger as well as enterprise services will surely bring in a negative impact on the sales of BlackBerry in the country.
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