Respite for Google, Skype

In what could be a breather to web-based email services such as Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail, leading Indian telecom operators say they have demonstrated to the government their ability to intercept such services if the need arises for security purposes.

Operators say they will also have no problem in demonstrating their ability to intercept Skype internet calls if the government desires.

There is apprehension that the government might block web mail and internet voice services to force the service providers to hand over their software codes for intercepting mails and calls in line with what they have asked Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry smartphones.

“We have already demonstrated to the government that it is possible to intercept any of the popular web mail services. So, we don’t see any issue on this at all,” said a top executive at a leading Indian operator.

He said BlackBerry was a paid service with very high levels of encryption, unlike the other web mail services which are free and cannot be decrypted without the software keys. “That is why BlackBerry is different from other email services,” he added.

A Google India spokesperson, when asked, said: “With reference to the current security concerns involving some telecom players, we have not received any related communication from the government on this issue and are, thereby, unable to comment on speculation.”

A senior Department of Telecommunications (DoT) official said: “Our whole effort is to find an amicable solution to the issue of interception of data.”

It was only last month that DoT had talked of finding a solution to the issue of interception of data and voice in BlackBerry, Google and Skype, among others.

The government has already given BlackBerry time till only August 31 to find a solution to the interception of data in its corporate email and messenger services or be blocked. According to Reuters, a RIM vice-president, Robert Crow, said he believed an agreement could be clinched. “I am optimistic,” he said, after meeting officials from the home ministry. “It is a step in a long journey.”

Interception of some data has already been agreed to in the case of BlackBerry. RIM has promised to develop tools in the next six to eight months so that chat services could be intercepted. The voice and SMS services offered on BlackBerry can already be monitored and intercepted by security agencies.

The general consumer email offered by service providers are decompressed by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Loop Telecom and Tata Teleservices. Aircel, Idea, BSNL, MTNL and Reliance have still not implemented the decompressed solution but would do so in the next fortnight.