August 15 has been set as a deadline for RIM to handover BlackBerry interception keys to Indian intelligence agencies to allow them to track the BlackBerry messenger and corporate email services in legible format.

The ultimatum has been given following the failure of talks over satisfactory interception solution. Indian government wants RIM either to place its servers in India or share encryption keys with security agencies.

A top government official said on the condition of anonymity, "Since RIM had missed its earlier May 15, 2011 deadline, the company has been told to come up with an interception solution by August 15, failing which the government may have to consider suspension of the service.”

Top-tier security is one of the BlackBerry's main selling points as it appeals to IT managers keen to protect business systems from cyber attacks and to control what employees do with company information.

The BlackBerry, which was once considered as the only option for businesses, is now facing cut-throat competition in the market as more companies let businesses to adopt their smartphones and add third-party security apps to them.

Meanwhile, RIM announced that it had added more than five million new subscribers worldwide in the three months to late November to take the total to more than 55 million.