[deathwalkr]

After many months of negotiations and threats, RIM finally agrees to set up server in India which will allow the Intelligence Agencies here to snoop around

Business Line : Industry & Economy / Info-tech : Blackberry maker gives in, sets up messenger server in India

[ridemaster]

cant seem to get away from government spying around, last time i checked people get charged for spy type activities. and governments still think they are above board.

[app_Developer]

I don't think anyone can criticize RIM for this. I don't see how they had any other choice.

[BBNation]

One positive thing about this news is that India will force all providers and also mentioned the fact that there are more than 5000 BES servers in India.

[Knightcrawler]

It was bound to happen. They're not gonna let a billion+ customer market just get away. And bbm can be a HUGE hit if rim floods the market with cheap devices. those 75 million subscribers can suddenly turn into 175 million. Besides, they already let the US eavesdrop on all forms of chatter, and im pretty sure canada and the UK are the same. So why not india too.

[world traveler and former ceo]

rim needs to do whatever it has to to dominate in this market NOW!!!

[phoreoneone]

they were stuck in-between a hard place and a rock on this one.

the market is too huge to pass up

[Rootbrian]

Glad to see RIM in india.

[M.Rizk]

Positive side:
Better connection within India

Down side:
Everything including Spying.

[blueyestm]

*makes mental note to not use BB in India

[Blackberry_boffin]

Okay it is despicable to be spied on but this is a business decision and RIM needs India.
It is up to the Indians to get their laws amended.
And now how about China?

[deathwalkr]

well long as the "spying" stays within the interest of national security then i guess it is fine but if politicos start snooping around for personal vendettas then it is going to be a crying shame.

note: most of the politicos use BBs out here

[kbz1960]

*makes mental note to not use BB in India

What will you use in India? You don't think they all ready can spy on all the others? If they couldn't you would be seeing stories about those too.

[berklon]

Smart move. RIM couldnt afford to lose that market.

[metz9444]

Jebus...even BES? One would think that if an organization ponied up for BES they would have their own security and that would be known only to them. It really is too bad that RIM put themselves into a corner like this in terms of needing market share. India's population is nothing to underestimate but it would have been nice for RIM to negotiate from a position of power rather than where they are now.

[app_Developer]

Jebus...even BES? One would think that if an organization ponied up for BES they would have their own security and that would be known only to them. It really is too bad that RIM put themselves into a corner like this in terms of needing market share. India's population is nothing to underestimate but it would have been nice for RIM to negotiate from a position of power rather than where they are now.

But no matter how successful RIM was, the Indian govt could still ban them and force users over to Android. I don't see how RIM would have had any leverage there? Apple surely doesn't either.

[sam_b77]

well long as the "spying" stays within the interest of national security then i guess it is fine but if politicos start snooping around for personal vendettas then it is going to be a crying shame.

note: most of the politicos use BBs out here

Yea, this is not about security. Our Govt wouldn't know anything for an hour if a nuke went off next to parliament. This is about political blackmail and industrial espionage, plain and simple.

The CBI, Intelligence Bureau are just the spies for the current govt. Not a good sign at all.

[kbz1960]

Jebus...even BES? One would think that if an organization ponied up for BES they would have their own security and that would be known only to them. It really is too bad that RIM put themselves into a corner like this in terms of needing market share. India's population is nothing to underestimate but it would have been nice for RIM to negotiate from a position of power rather than where they are now.

It has nothing to do with power unless you're talking about governments. RIM has something they want that they can't get unless going thru RIM. They do not need to go thru anyone to get what they want on other platforms. If RIM does not give them the keys they will more than likely enforce a ban on RIM products because terrorist can communicate at will without being spied on. At least that seems to be the premise.

I could be way off as I talk out of my rear end at times.

[menaknow]

After the Mumbai India hotel terrorist attack where users were using BBM to coordinate the attack, I couldn't see this NOT happening.

[menaknow]

Jebus...even BES? One would think that if an organization ponied up for BES they would have their own security and that would be known only to them. It really is too bad that RIM put themselves into a corner like this in terms of needing market share. India's population is nothing to underestimate but it would have been nice for RIM to negotiate from a position of power rather than where they are now.

What exactly is BES?

Its the ability to run a server in an enterprise environment. Nothing is stopping a terrorist organization in hosting it's own servers for there own personal agenda. All they need is funding, and if a terrorist can by a nuke for millions, I don't think they'd have issues getting a server...

[CrackedBarry]

The terrorist excuse is a crock of... Nonsense. There are plenty of solutions that somebody, including terrorists, could use for secure encrypted chat. Ironically, if someone wants to have secure, unencryptable (for all practical purposes) chat now, they'll have to turn to IPhones or esp. Android devices and third party software.

The only people this will possibly hurt are business users and BBM users in general. India is a horribly corrupt country, and if I was a BBM user in India, I'd keep all confidential information off my BBM, because of the risk of corporate espionage.

And it's unfortunate for all regular users and democracy in general. RIM made a pact with the devil in that regard, and any third world dictatorship that likes to keep tab on it citizens, can just point to India and demand the same kind of access....

[missing_K-W]

I believe RIM is building a manufacturing facility in India. Having a local server and manufacturing facility as well as local offices stimulates the Indian economy. RIM should continue to invest heavily in India and develop a great relationship with the Indian government. I would like to believe that RIM and the Indian government are developing a very positive close relationship which will lead to a prosperous future for all involved

[kbz1960]

The terrorist excuse is a crock of... Nonsense. There are plenty of solutions that somebody, including terrorists, could use for secure encrypted chat. Ironically, if someone wants to have secure, unencryptable (for all practical purposes) chat now, they'll have to turn to IPhones or esp. Android devices and third party software.

The only people this will possibly hurt are business users and BBM users in general. India is a horribly corrupt country, and if I was a BBM user in India, I'd keep all confidential information off my BBM, because of the risk of corporate espionage.

And it's unfortunate for all regular users and democracy in general. RIM made a pact with the devil in that regard, and any third world dictatorship that likes to keep tab on it citizens, can just point to India and demand the same kind of access....

OK. Do you live in India? So they really just want to know about Janes quilting group and when they want to meet next because those quilts might be against them. I'm sure those other things will happen also and don't be so sure that the "ways" to be secret on other platforms if someone else hasn't found a way to be secret snooping on their secret servers.

[Dapper37]

Consider the posibility that theres more than Two levels of services on the NOC, Simply sell another level. Its that easy. BIS/BES + Supper secret. Don't think so? I do.
Your core is happy, India is happy and we all move on.

[Tre Lawrence]

I believe RIM is building a manufacturing facility in India. Having a local server and manufacturing facility as well as local offices stimulates the Indian economy. RIM should continue to invest heavily in India and develop a great relationship with the Indian government. I would like to believe that RIM and the Indian government are developing a very positive close relationship which will lead to a prosperous future for all involved

Now this is by FAR the BEST spin I could ever imagine being applied to this issue!