Business
Airtel Argues Advanced 5G Services Essential for Future 6G Growth
Bharti Airtel has defended its new “Priority Postpaid” offering before a Department of Telecommunications panel, stating that the 5G-based service complies with India’s net neutrality rules and does not compromise service quality for prepaid users.
Bharti Airtel has defended its recently launched “Priority Postpaid” service before a panel of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), asserting that the offering does not violate India’s net neutrality regulations.
In its submission to the Committee on Communications and Information Technology, Airtel clarified that the service is powered by 5G network slicing technology and operates in a content-neutral manner.
The telecom operator stated that the service does not involve blocking, throttling, content-specific prioritisation, zero-rating or preferential treatment for any application or platform. According to the company, the offering remains fully aligned with the regulatory frameworks established by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the DoT.
Airtel also argued that restricting the use of advanced 5G capabilities for differentiated services could hamper India’s future development and adoption of next-generation 6G technologies.
The “Priority Postpaid” service has drawn attention amid ongoing debates over whether premium network services enabled by technologies such as network slicing could create disparities between different categories of users.
Network slicing is a key feature of 5G technology that allows telecom operators to create dedicated virtual network segments optimised for specific performance requirements such as speed, latency or reliability.
The issue is likely to remain under regulatory scrutiny as India’s telecom sector expands its commercial deployment of advanced 5G services and explores future 6G capabilities.
