BSNL to offer BlackBerry services once security issue sorted out

New Delhi, Apr 24 (UNI) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) today said it plans to launch BlackBerry services on its network but will wait for the government to sort out the security issues.

''We are in dialogue. Once the issue is sorted out, we will launch the services,'' BSNL CMD Kuldeep Goyal told reporters here on the sidelines of BSNL's Integrity Pact program.

The BlackBerry issue surfaced when Tata Teleservices was denied permission to start the services on grounds that it does not allow for interception of data by the government.

Currently, Reliance, Airtel and Vodafone offer BlackBerry services.

Worldwide, RIM has partnerships with 150 carriers in more than 60 countries where BlackBerry services are available on more than one network. In the Asia-Pacific region, it has partnered with 21 carriers in 11 countries.

India has about 35,000-40,000 users of BlackBerry and the number is expected to go up to more than five lakh.

BlackBerry enables mobile customers to access a premium range of applications, including e-mail, attachments, spreadsheets and organisers, with a single device.

BlackBerry, which was earlier synonymous with corporate executives, has now expanded to the mainstream consumer segment with its Pearl model. The smartphone supports MP3 player, multimedia, video and digital camera, besides e-mails.

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