Telcos, consumer groups clash over TRAI’s 5G slicing, coverage map and service quality rules

New Delhi: Telecom operators and consumer groups on Wednesday clashed on the sector regulator's proposal to bring in rules governing 5G network slicing, coverage map accuracy, and financial disincentives on telcos upon missing service quality benchmarks.

Bharti Airtel - in its comments to the TRAI at an open house discussion on Draft Amendments in The Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wireline and Wireless) and Broadband (Wireline and Wireless) Service Regulations, 2024 - said network slicing is a specific 5G architectural capability and regulatory intervention should only occur if a customer facing service issue actually arises, adding that the current implementation does not harm the general consumer experience.

Jio pointed out that 5G technologies currently in use reuse the same network resources across, often boosting the effective network cell capacity beyond 100% without degrading quality of service. Both telcos argued that the proposed measurement of capacity utilisation of network resources for 5G slicing is an internal engineering parameter rather than a direct proxy for consumer outcomes. TRAI had proposed limiting telcos from using network resources beyond the 80% threshold for 5G slicing which Reliance Jio said is disproportionate and technically inappropriate.

Consumer groups, such as Consumer Care Society, though, supported keeping the 80% utilisation benchmark to compel operators to actively augment overloaded cell capacity, which they said telcos have historically failed to do.

The Broadband India Forum added that network slicing can coexist with India's net neutrality framework if deployment remains transparent and non-discriminatory. However, BIF strongly opposed differential connectivity for use-cases such as live streaming or gaming, warning that allowing paid prioritisation violates the net neutrality principles.

MediaNama, a digital news publication, also expressed strong opposition to service-specific, content-specific, or app-specific network slicing adding that it allows telecom operators to act as gatekeepers, prioritise or throttle traffic, and undermine the level playing field for digital startups.

Telcos also emphasised that the wide-ranging overhauls proposed by the telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) will require significant changes including IT architectures, data pipelines, geospatial platforms, customer service systems, and cross-functional procedures, making the proposed effective start date unachievable.