Satellite phones seem to have been used as well. While on the high seas, they will have been essential for communication and co-ordination; even afterwards, they may well have been in touch with their handlers over the instruments. Such phones are available for between $200 to $1000 a piece. They connect to orbiting satellites and are mainly used in remote areas where cellphone services are not available. It would be of interest, and of future use, to investigate which communication services they used during their occupation of the hotels; satellite phones have poor reception indoors. It is likely that they used the hotel intercom network for as long as it was operational before or during the attacks. The manner in which they engaged the commandos across various floors in the hotels, indicates that they were in all likelihood in touch with each other during the operations.

For Indian agencies the only positive aspect regarding the usage of such equipment by the terrorists is that their usage leaves electronic footprints. It would be possible to track the places with which the terrorists established contacts based on the satellite phone’s records. A crucial aspect of counter-terrorism is intelligence and thus technological support of that should be looked at carefully.

This brutal act of terror proved that it is possible to use modern off-the-shelf technology to one’s advantage; and that, at times, intelligent investment in technology also helps to hoodwink the authorities.

One major flaw in India’s anti-terror mechanism is the lack of intelligent investments in counter-terror technology. Even today, the talk is mainly about a numerical increase in the NSG’s strength. I sometimes feel that as a nation we value human life so little that we do not mind having more martyrs. Globally an effort is on to replace, at least partially, the first wave of commandos by robots. The US forces have already started deploying them in Iraq. Such systems, beefed up with heat-seeking sensors, cameras and real time communication as a first line allows you to diminish an enemy’s firepower and collect on-site intelligence. This is not to argue that robots could replace soldiers; but they could at least complement them, particularly in scenarios where the enemy has asymmetric advantage or fighting an urban conflict where collateral damage is unacceptable, such as we saw in Mumbai.

... contd.