Govt, RIM discussion on BlackBerry tomorrow

NEW DELHI, INDIA: BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion will again meet Indian officials on May 29, to find a solution to concerns raised by security agencies, a telecom ministry official said.

India's security agencies have said the BlackBerry e-mail device posed a risk as e-mails sent using it could not be traced or intercepted and the government has written to RIM asking it to put servers in India.

"There is a meeting tomorrow," the official said, who did not want to be identified.

A spokesman for RIM in India declined comment.

Telecom minister Andimuthu Raja said last week the Canadian firm had assured the government to come out with a solution in two months.

But on last Friday, RIM said in a customer update that the company does not have a copy of the customer's encryption key and would "simply be unable to accommodate" any such request.

There are 114,000 BlackBerry subscribers in India, the junior telecom minister said on May 5.

Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone-controlled Vodafone Essar and BPL Mobile are offering the services.