Reliance Jio claims that certain services provided by Airtel for eSIM services are in violations of the license terms. Airtel has denied the allegations saying that it’s a “frivolous complaint”.
Reliance Jio has filed a complaint against Bharti Airtel with the DoT. Jio alleges that the eSIM services offered by Bharti Airtel with the Apple Watch Series 3 are in "gross violation to the license terms". As per a PTI report, the telco has also demanded immediate termination of Airtel’s eSIM services for the device. The Apple Watch Series 3 makes use of an eSIM and it shares the same number as their iPhone. The connection between the eSIM in the watch and the smartphone is established wirelessly via a dedicated network node and the user can make and receive calls on the phone and the watch independent of the current call status of the other device. The node is used for eSIM profile allocation and also contains network and user information like SIM details, PIN, operator identifier, remote file management for managing SIM files remotely and more.
Jio alleges that the eSIM provisioning node by Airtel has been set up outside India and says that the telecom operator has deliberately installed a critical network element outside the country. Jio also claims that Sunil Bharti Mittal led telecom operator should have carried out lawful interception and monitoring, but it is not aware of any demonstration carried out by Airtel prior to the launch of the service "so that important national security interests are not compromised". Airtel has denied the allegations and said that its a petty complaint by a “desperate operator”.
“This is yet another frivolous complaint by a desperate operator, whose sole aim appears to have a monopoly over everything that they do. Bharti Airtel is a law-abiding and responsible operator. The DoT was duly notified prior to the launch of Apple watch including product features, network architecture and lawful interception and we have also requested them to carry out a demonstration of the same. All information relating to customers, network nodes etc. is hosted in a fully secure manner by Airtel India along with provision for lawful interception. We will be happy to share more details with the DoT as and when required.”, Airtel spokesperson said. The spokesperson also said that all of their customer's information, network nodes and more are hosted in a completely secure manner by Airtel, along with provision for lawful interception.
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