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The BlackBerry controversy does not seem to be destined for a quick burial. A recent meeting between officials of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), BlackBerry licensor Research In Motion (RIM) and the home ministry failed to yield results as security agencies were not convinced about the options offered by RIM officials.

DoT has been exploring several options including asking foreign companies to help out with the monitoring of content transmitted through BlackBerry devices. As an interim measure, it has proposed that data exchanged between BlackBerry users be stored on the servers of the telecom operators who provide the service in India, for a period of one year. According to DoT, its suggestions are in line with recent telecom guidelines on mergers and acquisitions that require a suitable technical device containing the mirror image of remote access information to be made available in India for monitoring purposes. A complete audit trail of remote access activities should also be maintained for a period of six months by the network operator, and should be provided on request to the licensor or any other agency authorised by it.

Further, taking into account the contention of security agencies that the emails sent between BlackBerry owners in India bypass Indian mobile networks and go directly into RIM's servers in Canada, which cannot be lawfully intercepted, DoT has asked RIM to move some of its servers from Canada to India. RIM, however, fears that such a measure would impinge on the privacy of its users and has hence, asked for more time to respond.

Since RIM has not opposed the interim solution, DoT is hopeful that a permanent solution to the BlackBerry issue can be expected soon. As officials at DoT assert, "An interim solution will enable both sides to work out a concrete long-term solution."

Currently, there are about 400,000 BlackBerry subscribers in the country. Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Reliance Communications and BPL Mobile have been offering this service for the past four years. The problem arose when Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) asked for the government's permission to offer BlackBerry services and hit a roadblock.

Miffed at the refusal, TTSL cited the fact that other operators were offering the service without prior approval and announced its intention to launch the service without consent, as any further delay would translate into revenue loss. DoT has objected to this and has issued a letter stating: "Keeping in view the security implications involved, the licensee (company) is directed not to connect or provide or run the BlackBerry e-mail and mobile messenger service unless the required monitoring systems, to the satisfaction of the security agencies, are in place and the master key and algorithm are deposited with the licensor." The letter further states, "Non-compliance with instructions by any other operator in breach of terms and conditions of the licence cannot be a valid ground for granting permission to offer BlackBerry services."

In response to this, the Tatas have again approached DoT and are awaiting its response.

Meanwhile, the government has issued a directive to telecom operators to not provide "certain" BlackBerry services until monitoring systems are put in place. The term "certain" has, however, not been defined. Industry experts speculate that it might indicate that e-mails sent from one BlackBerry to another may be barred.