Airtel told a DoT panel its Priority Postpaid service is compliant with Trai and DoT norms
Company said the offering does not involve blocking, throttling or app-based prioritisation
Airtel argued restricting mainstream 5G features could hurt India’s future 6G development
Airtel Backs ‘Priority Postpaid’ to DoT Panel; Clears Net Neutrality Doubts
Telecom operator tells DoT panel its 5G slicing-based offering does not violate rules or impact prepaid users
Summary
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Bharti Airtel has defended its newly launched “Priority Postpaid” service before a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) panel, saying the 5G network slicing-based offering does not violate India’s net neutrality norms or degrade service quality for prepaid users, according to sources cited by PTI.
The service, available across Airtel’s postpaid plans priced between ₹449 and ₹1,749 per month excluding GST, uses 5G network slicing technology to provide a more stable and consistent network experience to subscribers.
The technology allows telecom operators to create dedicated virtual sections within a network to deliver different levels of service quality for users or applications. While it has already been deployed in countries such as the US, UK and Singapore, Airtel’s rollout is among the first consumer-focused implementations in India.
Airtel’s Defence Before DoT Panel
According to PTI, Airtel submitted its clarification to the Committee on Communications and Information Technology after concerns were raised over whether the service aligns with India’s net neutrality framework.
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“Priority Postpaid is implemented in a content-neutral manner and is fully consistent with the existing Trai and DoT framework. There is no blocking, throttling, content-specific prioritisation, zero-rating, or preferential treatment of any application,” the telecom operator said in its submission.
The company also argued that restricting the use of mainstream 5G capabilities such as network slicing could affect the development of 6G technologies in India.
Why Regulators Are Concerned
According to ET, the government wants to ensure that prepaid users do not see any decline in network quality because of the priority being offered to postpaid customers.
The report said Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has already held meetings with officials regarding the matter. Airtel may also be asked to explain the technical details behind how the network slicing has been implemented.
India currently does not have specific rules governing network slicing. In 2020, Trai recommended traffic management practices for telecom networks under net neutrality norms, but the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has not formally notified them yet.
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The recommendations stated that telecom companies should not discriminate or prioritise internet traffic and must clearly inform users about any traffic management practices.