India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority (Trai) is unlikely to determine that Bharti Airtel’s recently launched ‘priority’ postpaid plans, which use 5G network slicing technology, violate net neutrality norms, officials told livemint.com. The regulator will continue monitoring the plans’ impact on service quality for non-priority users and seek information as needed.
The priority plans offer differentiated 5G services by allocating dedicated network slices to select users, enabling faster speeds and lower latency. Trai officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the regulator is scrutinizing whether these plans affect the experience of other customers sharing the network. Airtel launched these plans to provide enhanced connectivity options without compromising the overall network performance.
The regulator’s stance comes amid ongoing debates over net neutrality in India, where previous rulings have prohibited discriminatory treatment of internet traffic. Airtel’s approach is notable for leveraging 5G slicing, which allows network partitioning without necessarily degrading service for others. This development follows a global trend where telecom operators explore differentiated services within regulatory frameworks, balancing innovation with fairness.
Trai’s continued oversight will focus on tariff structures and service quality metrics to ensure compliance. The regulator’s decision not to immediately challenge Airtel’s priority plans sets a precedent for how 5G slicing-based offerings may be treated under Indian net neutrality rules, according to livemint.com.