11.8.10

Govt wants 3G services put on hold


Users of third generation (3G) mobile services face the prospect of being disconnected, with the home ministry asking the department of telecommunications (DoT) to direct service providers to put all 3G services on hold till an effective system of tapping infrastructure is put in place.Though currently only public sector telecom companies BSNL and MTNL provide 3G services to nearly 19 lakh customers across the country, the move may affect the year-end schedule for the launch of third generation mobile services by private players if they fail to put in place the required infrastructure to intercept all services, including video calls.
The freeze order is aimed particularly at J&K where secessionists have used modern telephony to circulate streaming videos and clips to inflame opinion on the streets. It also marks a toughening of stance of the government towards service providers who have not heeded its security concerns. The
ministry is upset with the continued failure of service providers to verify SIM card users and the defiance of its directive not to provide services on handsets without the international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number. The ministry has repeatedly pointed out that terrorists were using unverified SIM cards as well as handsets without IMEIs—all Chinese-made—to plot violence.
The exasperation found expression in the tough stand against Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry, after it pleaded its inability to provide access to encrypted messages being sent and received by users of the smart phones.

The home ministry has called a meeting with service providers on Thursday where it is expected to read the riot act, even telling the companies to discontinue encrypted services on BlackBerry if the Canada-based RIM refuses to play ball.
It was recently found that there were nearly 30 lakh unverified SIM cards in J&K alone. A sample study in the border state revealed that unverified SIMs made up about 50% of the total active connections. Similarly, in case of IMEI number, it was found that the compliance rate from service providers over shutting down services to handsets without a genuine IMEI number had been extremely poor. As a result, law enforcement agencies are finding it difficult to intercept targets that do not have a legitimate IMEI number.

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