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India seeks to disable satellite phones at the border to fight terrorism

angeldemon_007

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Nov 29, 2010
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Indian Proposal :

If you absolutely need global voice and data connectivity, no matter how remote the terrain, how war-torn the locale, or how repressive the local government, you need a satellite phone. Their go-everywhere capabilities makes them a natural choice for news outfits and ship owners, and their hard-to-tap nature makes them perfect for coordinating terrorism. That's the reason the government of India has just proposed a broad new international framework for limiting the geographical reach of satphones. Step across GPS-defined boundaries, and the phone would no longer function.

India recently introduced its proposal at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the UN telecoms agency based in Geneva; Ars has seen a copy of the document. It's incredibly sketchy, running to only three paragraphs, but it makes the case for a new international standard to limit the reach of satphones.

India worries about satphone use "even in those countries where their services have not been authorized." India is one of those countries, banning most private satphone usage. Satphones have been deployed in past attacks on India, including the 2008 assault on a Mumbai hotel.

Unfortunately for India and the other countries around the globe that bar satphone use (Burma has reportedly handed out three-and-a-half-year prison sentences in the past for having such a device), actually blocking the devices is difficult. Satphones communicate directly with orbiting satellites, providing few good places for governments to intercept or disrupt access. "As of now, [blocking] does not appear to be possible and hence terrorists and insurgents get the facilitation which must be made to stop," India says. "ITU must rise to the occasion to meet this challenge."

India wants a system under which satphones would be automatically disabled upon entering Indian territory. "There is a need to develop necessary technical solutions which when incorporated in the Satellite network can disable the satellite phone service as soon as it crosses the permissible area of operation," says its ITU proposal. "Transnational service area can be defined in the satellite network system by the means of GPS coordinate mask so that satellite communication device/phone gets disabled as soon as it is taken beyond the permissible area of operation as defined in the system." Such a scheme would apparently rope the private satphone satellite operators into implementing the block.

The proposal comes up for discussion at an ITU meeting in Geneva in October, and it serves as a helpful reminder that global communications tech like the Internet and satphones are only "borderless" so long as governments allow them to be. With enough effort, borders can be imposed on just about any "borderless" technology.


India seeks to disable satellite phones at the border to fight terrorism
 
We should ban all sat phones in Kashmir and other bordering area's with pak!

Banning will not help. The proposal put by India is the best solution. There are many countries which doesnot allow the use of sat phones but its still been used and hence this is the way to go. I think if properly presented infront of world this will very easily be accepted in the name of security. We should talk to US, NATO countries and Russia.
 
Good idea but I'm not sure how easy it would be to implement the idea. Also I really don't like the way this article is written it seems to paint India as an aggressor and suppressive not a GENUINE victim that needs such procedures. Also what about military sat-phone usage in India? Surely they would be disabled too?
 
Can;t believe this is taking so long. OBL was targetted in Afghan with Tomahawk Missile. This incident brought to light how these terrorists were using such tech. The Indian gov;t is only realizing this now? Man, the guys in the defence establishment weren;t doing anything productive. Unbelieveable how outdated and ill prepared India was and continues to be.
 
Good idea but I'm not sure how easy it would be to implement the idea.
Its not....the tech is not available yet and thats why India went to this forum beccause its not possible to implement it also alone.

Also I really don't like the way this article is written it seems to paint India as an aggressor and suppressive not a GENUINE victim that needs such procedures. Also what about military sat-phone usage in India?
I think its impressive. Its the first time India has taken global initiative which might help alot in the fight against terror.

Surely they would be disabled too?
I think it can get green signal if the issue is nicely played alongwith US by bringing global war on terror as context.
 

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