India’s government has set the maker of BlackBerry mobile phones a deadline at the end of this month to give it access to all of its services or face being shut down.
The ultimatum was issued hours after senior officials from government, intelligence and state-run telecom operators met to discuss how to gain access to the content, the latest global headache for Research In Motion (Rim).
In a matter of a few weeks, the BlackBerry device has become a target for its sealed email and messaging services with governments around the world concerned about security.
The Indian government said in a statement that if its demands were not met by August 31st, phone operators would be required by law to close the encrypted BlackBerry Enterprise email and messenger services running through their networks.
The Indian demands follow a deal with Saudi Arabia, where a source said Rim agreed to give authorities codes for BlackBerry Messenger users. The United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Algeria also seek access.
India fears BlackBerry could provide cover for militant activities. In 2008, a Pakistani-based group used mobile and satellite phones to coordinate attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people.
Investor attention is focused more on whether the new BlackBerry Torch, a touch-screen model unveiled last week to compete against Apple's iPhone and handsets using Google's Android software, will live up to its hype.
The BlackBerry image could suffer if users feel Rim has compromised its Enterprise email system - long valued by business executives and politicians for secure communications. Corporate and consumer customers both use its BlackBerry Messenger instant messaging.
India seeks access to both email and Messenger, while Saudi Arabia has only targeted the instant messaging service.
Rim is alone among its competitors in facing such demands. Unlike rivals Nokia and Apple, it operates its own network through secure servers in Canada and elsewhere.
Rim has said BlackBerry's Enterprise system lets customers create their own key, and the company has neither a master key nor a "back door" to allow it or any third party to access crucial corporate data.
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone's India unit are the largest providers of BlackBerry services in India. While national security appears to be India's main concern, Middle Eastern countries are concerned that BlackBerry users may spread pornography or violate restrictions on contact between unrelated men and women.
Reuters