Airtel Presents its Stand on 5G Slicing Before DoT Panel

Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom operator in India, has explained to the telecom department what 5G slicing is and how its service is not affecting the prepaid consumers. Airtel launched Priority Postpaid last week this service is basically offering 5G slicing over the SA (standalone architecture) network. It means, the Priority Postpaid consumers will be shifted to a virtual network (a slice of the main network, optimised for a superior experience).

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Key Highlights

  • Bharti Airtel has clarified to India’s telecom department that its Priority Postpaid service does not violate net neutrality norms.
  • Airtel’s Priority Postpaid service uses 5G slicing over SA (standalone) architecture to create a virtual premium network experience for postpaid users.
  • According to Airtel, postpaid traffic currently contributes only 4% of total mobile network traffic and may rise to a maximum of 6%, which the company says is too small to impact prepaid users.
  • Airtel told the DoT panel that there is no blocking, throttling, zero-rating, or preferential treatment for specific applications or content on the network.
  • The telecom department had sought clarification from Airtel after concerns emerged that 5G slicing for premium users could potentially affect prepaid consumers and net neutrality compliance.

This is only for the postpaid consumers right now, and may not even be present in each area of the country given Airtel’s 5G SA is not everywhere. Regardless, the telecom department wrote to Airtel asking for an explaination over the service as the department’s worried if the service does not comply with the net neutrality rules. What is net netrality and how does it fit into this context? To understand that, read this.