Airtel reacts to Jio's allegation, says DoT was notified prior to Apple Watch launch

India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel today retaliated against Reliance Jio for alleging that the former is providing eSim service on Apple Watch Series 3 in violation of license norms and demanded immediate closure of the service.

"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. said an Airtel spokesperson.

The DoT was duly notified prior to the launch of Apple watch including product features, network architecture and a lawful interception and we have also requested them to carry out a demonstration of the same, spokesperson said.

Airtel further claims that all information related to customers, network nodes etc. was hosted in a fully secure manner along with provision for lawful interception.

According to a report in PTI, Reliance Jio alleged that Airtel hasn't installed eSIM provisioning node within India and the node being used to provide Apple Watch Series 3 service is currently located out of India in "gross violation to the license terms.

Reliance Jio said in a letter to DoT that the firm (Airtel) has deliberately chosen to install a critical network element outside India.

Furthermore, Jio also requested to DoT to take severe action against M/s Bharti Airtel and impose the strictest of penalties under the License.

To recall, both Airtel and Jio have introduced Apple Watch 3 in the country last week with some good offers to attract Apple fans.

The watch is available in two different sizes i.e 42 mm and a 38 mm. It comes with GPS and cellular connectivity both featuring a 70 percent faster dual-core processor and new wireless chip W2.

Users can make calls directly, receive texts and more, with Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular), even without iPhone nearby.

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To activate cellular service with Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular), users will first need to update iOS 11.3 and watchOS 4.3, then tap Settings on iPhone > General > About and follow the prompt to update to the latest carrier settings.