SMS your heart out, soon Govt may start tapping

The Government’s moves have rattled the cellphone industry. More so since this is currently not done anywhere else in the world.

Says T V Ramachandran, Director General of the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) under which all private cellphone operators fall: ‘‘We have been cooperating with the government on issues of national security and will continue to do so in the future. The government had enquired from us whether it was possible to obtain details of SMS messages a few months ago but we have no formal instructions as of now.’’

Experts say while records of numbers dialled do not infringe too much on the customer’s privacy as telephone bills anyways carry these, these are not examples of ‘‘live tapping.’’ But if SMS texts are retrieved even a year later, privacy of individuals would seriously be infringed upon.

‘‘While we are ready to cooperate with the government on security issues, there is need for the government to be practical in such matters,’’ says B K Syngal, vice chairman of BPL Mobile which provides services in Mumbai and several states. ‘‘For example, the government can’t expect records of all faxes exchanged in the country to be kept by telephone companies, very long records of SMS text may pose a practical problem.’’

Added to this is the money factor. As of now, the benchmark in tapping technology in the industry—for listening in on calls—is supplied by Variant Technologies, an Israeli company. For recording and storing SMS text specialised equipment will be needed. This could cost anything between $2 million to $3 million (Rs 10 to 15 crore) in limited areas in cities.

In state circles, costs could be higher. In other words, the total damage to the industry could run into over Rs 1,000 crore. ‘‘What will also determine costs is the fact that what kind of records the government would like cellphone companies to keep for SMSs — three months, six months or one year. That configuration in the system could push up costs for longer period of records,’’ says Ramachandran.

As and when the Government’s notification comes, experts say, it has to be in conformity with rules laid down by the SC judgement of 1996 which provides for specific procedures to be followed for tapping to protect the right to privacy of individuals. When cellphones were first introduced, the DoT’s technical wing stipulated that each operator should have the capability to tap, simultaneously, 180 calls. So that six government investigative agencies would get 30 circuits each.

Now the Home Ministry wants to raise its tapping capability to 210 calls for seven agencies: Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Research and Analysis Wing, Department of Revenue Intelligence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau and police authorities in each state. In border states like Rajasthan, the government wants provision for tapping even by military intelligence agencies.