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Highlights
- Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom operator in India, is in the government radar for launching the Priority Postpaid service.
- For the unaware, Priority Postpaid is basically 5G slicing (over standalone or SA).
- Airtel has promised that the consumers on the Priority Postpaid service will get a superior 5G experience.
Andrew Bonwick
Vice President of Product Development at Relm Insurance
Madhav Sheth
CEO of Ai+ Smartphone
Stephen Rose
CEO Render Networks
Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom operator in India, is in the government radar for launching the Priority Postpaid service. For the unaware, Priority Postpaid is basically 5G slicing (over standalone or SA). Airtel has promised that the consumers on the Priority Postpaid service will get a superior 5G experience. However, this may not comply with the net neutrality rules set by the government. Airtel prepaid consumers will still be on the regular 5G network.
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Key Highlights
- Bharti Airtel is facing government scrutiny over its newly launched Priority Postpaid 5G slicing service in India.
- The Indian government is evaluating whether Airtel’s 5G slicing could negatively impact network quality for prepaid users.
- Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has reportedly discussed the matter with officials and regulators.
- Airtel may be asked to explain and technically demonstrate how its 5G slicing architecture works.
- India currently does not have clear regulations around retail 5G network slicing services.
Indian Government Discussing if 5G Slicing is Resulting in Degradation of Services for Prepaid Users
The government is worried if the 5G priority service for postpaid users will affect the services for prepaid consumers. The union telecom minister of India, Jyotiraditya Scindia has already met with the officials on the service. The telecom regulatory will be examining the service in detail to check for any hindrances created by the service, and could ask Airtel for technical details.
Airtel Might Need to Explain and Demonstrate Slicing to Govt
According to an ET report, Airtel could be asked to explain and demonstrate how slicing of the network has been done to better understand the technology behind the new service. There are no clear rules around slicing in India. The telecom operators had written to the telecom regulatory after launching 5G in 2022, asking about the rules around slicing based plans. However, they did not get any reply in the regard.
