Jio, Airtel and Vi to Engage in Network Slicing, Should Not be a Net Neutrality Problem

Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) are soon going to launch 5G network services and, along with that, network slicing services. This might get many worried about the potential effect network slicing would have on the net neutrality goal of the government. For the unaware, net neutrality means not giving anyone preferential treatment with the network experience. But with network slicing, it would be very much possible for the telcos to do so.

However, there’s one thing you should know if you are worried about this. Network slicing is a service meant for B2B customers, and it shouldn’t really affect the B2C services of the telcos. In short, consumers don’t need to worry about network slicing.

Net Neutrality Rules Might be Affected, but Consumers Don’t Need to Worry

With 5G and network slicing, the net neutrality rules may be affected. But this is natural as the net neutrality rules that exist currently weren’t made by looking at the 5G technology. With 5G, the rules should be updated so that litigation in the sector can be reduced.

Network slicing would be a strong use-case for the telcos as it will help them in offering private 5G networks to the enterprises. Consumers won’t be affected due to this. For every consumer, the service in a particular area should be the same. Telcos won’t really be able to target specific customers and offer them faster network speed with their network slice. It just doesn’t work that way.

The government’s aim for net neutrality is a noble vision and something that all consumers would certainly stand by. Telcos won’t really want to bring more legal trouble on them by engaging in preferential treatment of the consumers. Instead, they would like to offer a better network experience to both consumers and enterprises to maximise their revenues and fuel growth.