Jio Alleges Airtel Flouting Licence Norms For E-Sims To Sell Apple Watches, Claims Threat To National Security

In the latest episode of the battle between telecom majors Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, the former has alleged that the latter has violated licencing norms, thereby putting national security at risk by not setting up a non India-based network to sell the latest iteration of Apple’s smartwatch, reports Mint. In a letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Jio has said that Airtel has not set up an eSIM provisioning node within India for the Apple Watch Series 3 and is using a node outside of the country, thereby flouting the department’s norms.

The embedded SIM or eSIM is a chip that is embedded within a device such as the Apple Watch that allows it to be paired with an iPhone, thus allowing users to accept or reject calls from either device. eSims are also used in the latest version of Apple’s iPad Pro. The European Union (EU) requires all cars to have an eSim to allow instant connection to emergency services.

Indian rules currently mandate that operators deploy equipment anywhere within the country, subject to interconnection points located in a service area. It also prohibits any transfer user or accounting information outside of the country.

Jio has alleged that Airtel has deliberately set up a critical network element outside of the country for a service that is being offered under the Access Service Licence. Airtel had announced a partnership with the Cupertino, California-based company to sell the smartwatch in April. Jio too announced a similar partnership earlier this month.

Airtel has responded saying that all of its customer services are hosted within India and has referred to Jio’s allegations as “frivolous complaints by a desperate operator”.