India Sets BlackBerry Deadline: Report

NEW DELHI (TheStreet) -- Research In Motion (RIMM) was dealt another setback Wednesday after a report that India may temporarily shut down some BlackBerry services over security concerns.

India's government will meet with telecom operators Thursday to address security concerns, with a source telling Reuters that BlackBerry services may be halted if security concerns are not addressed at the meeting.

"There definitely could be talk of some deadline and a proposal to take strong action on BlackBerry services during the meeting," a government official told Reuters, declining to be identified.

India and other countries like Saudi Arabia have considered banning key BlackBerry services because of concerns that militants were using them to communicate. India wants access to the encrypted data communicated using BlackBerry devices.

The report comes a day after Saudi Arabia's telecom regulator said it will allow BlackBerry messenger services to continue, citing progress in meeting regulatory requirements.

Saudi Arabia's Communication and Information Technology Commission, or CITC, said it would allow the continuation of BlackBerry messenger services after RIM satisfied some regulatory requirements, according to several media reports.

The CITC noted "positive developments in the completion of part of the regulatory requirements on the part of service providers" in an email to The Wall Street Journal.

Over the weekend, Saudi officials disclosed a preliminary agreement that likely will require the placement of a BlackBerry server inside Saudi Arabia, the Associated Press reported. That would allow the government to monitor messages, the report added.

A week ago, the United Arab Emirates said it would ban BlackBerry email, messaging and Web browsing beginning in October because of security concerns.

Meanwhile, RIM announced a common share repurchase late Tuesday, saying it has agreed to purchase for cancellation 1.53 million of its outstanding common shares, representing approximately 0.28% of its common shares outstanding at June 24, for approximately $79.8 million.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston.

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