India says RIM to resolve BlackBerry issue in 1 month

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Research in Motion has said it expects to resolve in a month Indian security concerns about its BlackBerry wireless e-mail device, India's telecoms minister said on Friday.

The government has held a series of meetings with RIM and mobile operators after security officials raised concerns that e-mails sent through BlackBerry devices could not be traced or intercepted.

"RIM has promised the government that they will come out with a solution in a month," minister Andimuthu Raja told reporters at an industry event.

In response to a question, Raja said Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal had not sought government support in his talks for a stake in South Africa's MTN Group.

The minister also said the government was considering whether to allow foreign companies to bid at auctions for licences for third-generation services (3G) in consultation.

The telecoms regulator said last month the auctions should be restricted to existing telecoms service licence holders.