India companies eye switch to rivals as BlackBerry ban looms

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian companies are mulling options that include leaving Research in Motion (RIM) for other smartphone makers as they face a threatened ban on BlackBerry services that could disrupt business.

RIM's rivals Apple Inc and Nokia would be among the biggest gainers if India blocks BlackBerry services. Both firms are waiting to gain share in a market that has been mostly dependent on BlackBerry.

BlackBerry, once a synonym for safe corporate communication, faces an Aug 31 deadline for giving Indian security agencies access to its corporate email and messenger services, failing which the services would be blocked, the government has said.

General Electric's Indian unit, which has about $2.6 billion in revenue in the country, has already started discussing options to switch to other services, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The person said options included Apple's iPhone services, though a final decision would be made only after the government makes a decision.

Infosys Technologies Ltd, India's No. 2 IT software services exporter, would look at using alternate services for communications to ensure that its business was not affected if some BlackBerry services were banned.

"We hope that this issue will be resolved soon," said an Infosys spokeswoman. "If the need arises, we will use alternate services to help our staff remotely access mails."

An official with one of the leading European banks in India said the bank could look at using other smartphones if BlackBerry services were blocked in the world's fastest-growing wireless market.

"The plans are very preliminary at this stage, but we will have to look at some alternate arrangements if the BlackBerry service is blocked in the country," said the official with the bank, declining to be named as the discussions were confidential.

"Obviously, if there is uncertainty, consumers will definitely" switch to other service providers, said Pankaj Mohindroo, president of Indian Cellular Association, a trade organization for mobile phone manufacturers.

He said customers were "feeling extremely uncertain" as they depend on their communication devices. India has about a million BlackBerry users, according to industry estimates. RIM does not give country-specific user numbers.

RIM has said singling out BlackBerry would be counter-productive for India, as it would limit the efficiency and productivity of local firms.

CALLS TO RIVALS

An official with one of RIM's rival companies confirmed they had started getting queries from wary corporate BlackBerry users asking if they could be a substitute for BlackBerry.

Nine mobile operators offer BlackBerry services in India, of which Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar are estimated to have the maximum number of BlackBerry users in India.

"There is a chance that we could receive further orders from the government requiring us to shut down certain services available on the BlackBerry platform for an undetermined length of time," Vodafone Essar told its corporate customers in an email.

"We will be in a clearer position after September 1 to advise on the likely outcomes and whether it is necessary to engage in any detailed contingency planning," India's third-largest mobile operator, controlled by Vodafone, said in the note.

India might extend an Aug 31 deadline in its standoff with RIM if the Canadian firm says it has a solution and asks for more time, a government source said on Friday.

India says it wants to track and read BlackBerry's secure email and instant messaging services that officials fear could be misused by militants trying to create instability.

India is one of a number of countries putting pressure on RIM, which has built its reputation around confidentiality. (Editing by Jui Chakravorty and Muralikumar Anantharaman)