The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs said it had called a meeting for Thursday with the country’s telecommunication services providers to discuss the matter of BlackBerry services and their security issues, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.
India is among several countries that have warned Canada-based Research In Motion that it is considering outlawing the use of BlackBerry messenger services because their security agencies are unable to monitor them.
However, Saudi Arabia, which had also threatened to ban the use of BlackBerrys, said Tuesday it now intends to allow them to remain, as some of its regulatory requirements have now been satisfied.
Some press reports are suggesting that the Saudis relented after RIM agreed to give its so-called ‘user codes’ to Saudi authorities, which would enable them to read encrypted texts sent to and by Saudi BlackBerry users. However, a Reuters wire service story said Ontario-based RIM declined to comment on these reports, and cited an earlier statement in which it said it "cooperates with all governments with a consistent standard".
With some 700,000 BlackBerry users, Saudi Arabia is said to be the Gulf’s largest market for Research in Motion (RIM), which sells the distinctive smartphones in some 175 countries to more than 41m subscribers.
Growing concerns
In addition to Saudi Arabia and India, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have also expressed concern that the BlackBerry devices’ system of encrypting e-mail and text messages – initially a selling point to corporate clients – could represent a national security threat.
At present, the UAE is understood to be going ahead with a plan to ban BlackBerrys from 11 October, after efforts to reach an agreement with RIM over the encryption system broke down.
A survey of UAE residents found two-thirds expect the country’s regulators will go ahead with the ban, which 41% said they supported. The survey, conducted earlier this month by YouGov Siraj, was based on some 750 responses.
Four out of five readers of this website who responded to a recent poll said a ban on BlackBerrys by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would be a “major inconvenience” to their businesses, with only 12% saying the ban would not significantly or not at all affect them.
However, some wags have suggested that banning BlackBerrys could boost tourism in the Gulf by giving busy executives an excuse to be out of reach while on holiday.
