3G can go ahead while monitoring is put in place: Chidambaram

In a move that could see GenNext mobile services including video calls being available to customers, the government today said telecom operators can roll out 3G telephony while working on the modalities to provide monitoring facilities to the security agencies.

Responding to questions at his monthly press conference called for giving the report of Home Ministry for December, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said the Department of Telecom and his ministry were working together in putting in place some rules and norms for intercepting or monitoring of 3G transactions in the interest of national security.

"We are putting place certain mechanisms to monitor and intercept 3G services where it become necessary on the grounds of national security.

"The idea is not to interrupt or delay the 3G services. The idea is to allow 3G services to go forward even while monitoring mechanisms are put in place," Chidambaram said.

"So no one need to fear that the 3G services will be interrupted or delayed," he added.

Earlier, DoT had issued notices to a few telecom operators asking them to stop the GenNext mobile services -- 3G -- which includes video calling facility -- asking them to put on hold the new services till they adhered to security norms for its legal interception.

The DoT and central security agencies had convened a meeting of industry officials in December 20 last year and asked them to stop roll-out of 3G services till they demonstrate interception facility.

3G mobile services mainly include voice call, video calls and data services. In the data services, operators are claiming to offer high-speed internet service and required to offer monitoring facility.

The DoT had sent a letter to both TTSL and RCom asking them not to launch 3G services on commercial basis till they demonstrate lawful interception facilities.

The letter had pointed about the shortcomings in interception facilities of video calling on 3G services for the agencies which need to be addressed before their launch.

According to an exhaustive note sent by the Union Home Ministry to the DoT, a demonstration was organised by Reliance, Tata Teleservices and Bharti during which the law enforcement agencies pointed out that online delivery of video call intercepts "in real time" could not be carried out by any of the telecom operators.