Telecom regulator Trai may look deeper at net neutrality regulations

Reliance Jio had raised concerns over the need for clearer guidance on 5G network slicing

The telecom regulator may take a broader look at net neutrality regulations, sources said, after Reliance Jio raised concerns over the need for clearer guidance on 5G network slicing, a technology that allows dedicated bandwidth at higher speeds and low latency for specific services, and could potentially command a premium.

 

“While the regulation is quite clear on net neutrality, if there’s need for more specification, it can be looked into,” one source said, noting that technology had evolved considerably since the rules were drafted. “5G slicing did not exist at that time while now technology allows it,” the source added.

 

Reliance Jio, the country’s largest carrier, told the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in its response to a consultation paper on auctioning radio frequency spectrum in International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)-designated bands that it had been receiving proposals for tariff products built around network slicing on 5G standalone (SA) architecture.

 

“The sample proposals are for products for a defined upload speed slice and low latency gaming slice etc,” the operator said in its submission. Examples from other markets, such as Singapore’s 5G network slicing offers that deliver dedicated speeds to users willing to pay more, have emerged as viable monetisation opportunities for telecom companies.

 

“Trai should adopt a flexible approach to recognise traffic management, technology-centric innovations like network slicing in 5G; specialised and managed services on the same physical broadband medium,” Jio said, pointing to changes by overseas regulators including the US Federal Communications Commission and the UK’s Office of Communications (Ofcom), which has allowed premium-quality retail offers as specialised services, alongside traffic management and most zero-rating offerings.

 

Industry executives said the operator may be seeking clarity out of caution, wary of launching offers that might later have to be withdrawn if found to breach existing net neutrality norms.

 

Trai’s current rules prohibit zero-rating plans such as Free Basics, introduced by Meta (then Facebook) in 2014, and Airtel Zero, which offered free access to certain websites or apps. The norms also bar discriminatory tariffs based on content, though they permit reasonable traffic management practices specified by the Department of Telecommunications to maintain service quality. They allow fast lanes for critical specialised services and exempt content delivery networks from the rules that underpin an open internet. 

Signals of shift

 

Tech innovations like 5G slicing, specialised services available on SA networks

 

Trai’s 2016 net neutrality norms back an open internet and bar discriminatory tariffs

 

2018 amendments allowed reasonable traffic management and fast lanes for critical DoT-defined