Global telecommunications firms such as Blackberry, Skype and Google are being demanded to supply “access to everything" by Indian authorities. Talks between Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) and Indian security forces have already taken place exploring ways to monitor data, and the company were given an extra 60 days to provide a solution having originally been handed a ban.

India’s decision to allow RIM a further 60 days to provide a solution was influenced by the fact that Delhi is hosting the Commonwealth Games in October. A ban would have provided serious communication problems during the games, something which the Indian authorities were keen to avoid. However, despite the postponement of the ban, India expects an answer by the end of the period.

RIM is proposing setting up a server in India as part of the solution. However, they also state that locating its servers locally would make no difference. "All data remains encrypted at all times," it said. "Locating Blackberry infrastructure in a particular geography does not in any way aid or offer access to the encrypted information that flows through the Blackberry infrastructure." RIM has said that it "does not possess a 'master key'”, explaining that this is crucial for maintaining security for users.

The firm said that singling out and banning Blackberry would be "ineffective and counter-productive" and claimed that many other networks and companies use similar encryption techniques. They said that finding a solution to meet the needs of governments and prevent the misuse of encryption was an industry-wide problem and whilst they would support the country's need for "lawful access, they maintain that they do not do specific deals with countries.

The government’s new stance on snooping powers is largely due to their increased fear of terrorism. They have said that they require access to messages in order to counter terrorists and criminals effectively. Whilst Blackberry has been the main target so far, the squeeze is expected to affect Google and Skype. Google use powerful encryption in its Gmail service, whilst Skype has a similar issue to Blackberry, as it uses a proprietary protocol. An Indian Home Ministry official said that "any company with a telecoms network should be accessible" and that "it could be Google or Skype, but anyone operating in India will have to provide data."