Jio Aligns with Airtel on 5G Quality of Service Tiers
In a regulatory development within the Indian telecom sector, Reliance Jio has submitted a response to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), expressing support for Bharti Airtel’s “Priority Postpaid” plans. Jio stated that utilizing 5G Standalone (5G SA) network slicing to offer priority bandwidth to specific user groups is compliant with existing net neutrality frameworks.
Jio’s submission argues that net neutrality guidelines prohibit discrimination based on the content or applications accessed, but do not prevent operators from offering different quality-of-service (QoS) tiers. Both telecom majors contend that network slicing is a standard capability of 5G infrastructure, allowing operators to offer dedicated bandwidth options to corporate and premium consumers to recover heavy capital outlays.
Regulatory Frameworks and 5G Infrastructure Monetization
TRAI is currently reviewing whether priority postpaid plans create an unfair advantage that impacts the service quality of general prepaid and postpaid subscribers. Jio and Airtel have assured the regulator that their network capacities are designed to handle traffic spikes without degrading standard services. The outcome of the review will set a precedent for how 5G services are monetized in India.
