RIM receives stay of execution of India BlackBerry services

RIM has received a two-month stay of execution in India. With over 1 million users in its fastest growing market, one of its fastest growing markets, RIM has submitted a proposal to the India government, which said it would study and test the idea for two months.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, which is responsible for internal security, said RIM, the Canadian company which sells BlackBerry smartphones and servers, had made "certain proposals for lawful access by law enforcement agencies and these would be operationalized immediately. The feasibility of the solutions offered would be assessed thereafter.”

Transparency is key for India's BlackBerry

At the heart of India's issues with RIM's BlackBerry services is transparency for law enforcement and government agencies. India, as well as other countries, wants the ability to monitor all messages sent over BlackBerry devices. Governments have said they are concerned that the devices will be used to plan terrorist plots.

Although an issue previously, Indian security concerns were heightened after the terrorist attack on Mumbai in November 2008. That attack was coordinated using mobile phones, satellite phones and VOIP.

RIM, meanwhile, has previously stated that corporate e-mail messages are encrypted on the device and can only be decoded by computer servers owned by corporate clients. Thus, RIM said, it cannot provide "government-legible" messages to authorities.

Corporations love the BlackBerry's encryption, so this has come down to corporate privacy vs. government vs. national security. At this time, it's unclear what concessions RIM made to avert the ban. In the past, RIM offered to locate servers in India.

This year has been tough for RIM, stock-wise. Not all of the issues have been security-based, however; shares of RIM have fallen more than 30 percent this year on concerns over its ability to keep up with rivals like Apple and Android, as well as these potential bans. RIM shares were up 0.76 percent, to $46.34, in mid-afternoon (EDT) trading on NASDAQ, after the Indian government’s announcement.

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