India extends BlackBerry access

Handsets will operate for at least 60 more days

The government of India has called off its plans to ban Research In Motion's (RIM's) BlackBerry platform in September.

The company said that it will take an additional 60 days to study a possible solution to the impasse that has arisen between the two sides over data access.

"RIM have made certain proposals for lawful access by law enforcement agencies and these would be operationalised immediately," said India's Ministry of Home Affairs in a brief statement.

"The feasibility of the solutions offered would be assessed thereafter."

RIM has been facing the possibility of a ban in India in recent weeks over its BlackBerry service. Governments in India and several other countries have demanded that the company allow authorities to collect data from the handsets, while RIM has maintained that it cannot allow access to its enterprise server

The company recently offered to enter into talks on a framework to allow government surveillance in India.

The statement comes as one of RIM's chief rivals announced plans to expand its operations in India.

Nokia's India managing director D. Shivakumar told local press that his company is preparing to roll out updates to its push mail service that would comply with government regulations.