Airtel backs priority postpaid plans against net neutrality allegations

The telecom operator told the government its priority postpaid plans are compliant with TRAI and DoT norms and do not degrade service quality for prepaid users

Bharti Airtel has defended its priority postpaid service plans against allegations of the carrier violating net neutrality norms to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), saying that the service was fully compliant with regulations issued by the telecom regulator and the government. The Sunil Mittal-backed company has offered to share live network data with authorities and be accountable for quality-of-service benchmarks.

 

“Airtel’s implementation is fully compliant with TRAI and DoT norms. It is content-neutral and involves no blocking, throttling, preferential treatment, or zero-rating,” the No. 2 carrier is learnt to have told the government, sources aware of the communication said.

 

 

“The company has affirmed its readiness to be accountable for quality-of-service benchmarks and to collaborate closely with regulators in setting guardrails that uphold innovation while protecting consumer interest. Airtel also remains committed to sharing live network data with authorities to transparently demonstrate the positive impact of Priority Postpaid,” said a note to the government shared by executives following a meeting last week.

 

The No. 2 carrier, which last week upgraded all its postpaid customers to the priority plans offering dependable network access despite heavy congestion, argued that the service did not throttle or degrade the experience for its prepaid customers, who form the majority of its 368 million customers in the country.

 

“There is also a clear commercial incentive for Airtel to ensure prepaid customers — who make up 92 per cent of the subscriber base and contribute 88 per cent of revenue — receive excellent service. Any degradation of their experience would be counterproductive to the company’s core business,” it added. According to the latest earnings report, Airtel has 29-30 million postpaid customers, making up 7-8 per cent of its mobility user base and contributing around 12-13 per cent of mobility revenue. Any shift from prepaid to postpaid will bolster Airtel’s revenues.

 

The carrier’s executives met top government officials in the ministry last week after the Committee on Communications and Information Technology sought a clarification from the Sunil Mittal-backed telecom services provider. In its letter, the carrier said that priority postpaid was powered by 5G network slicing but did not violate net neutrality norms.

 

“Network slicing is the only proven large-scale monetisation model on 5G today and is foundational to future 6G networks. For India to stay competitive, embracing such technology advancements is essential,” the company’s communication added.

 

Queries sent to Bharti Airtel did not elicit a reply as of Tuesday evening.

 

5G slicing refers to a method of creating segments within a telecom carrier’s network for specialised use, such as fast lanes with low latency or dedicated lanes ensuring all-time connectivity. 5G slicing-based services are prevalent in markets such as Singapore, the US, the UK, and Malaysia.

 

The company said that at present, overall 5G capacity utilisation is around 38 per cent during busy hours. Within this, postpaid traffic accounts for only about 4 per cent, which, after the introduction of a virtual “tunnel” (slice) for Priority Postpaid, may move to around 6 per cent, the company said.

 

It said that prepaid and other non-priority traffic continue to have additional headroom of roughly 60 per cent of total capacity, making it clear that Priority Postpaid does not and cannot cause degradation for prepaid users.

 

Airtel's priority postpaid plans start at Rs 449 for a single user and go up to Rs 1,749 for five users or a family, offering unlimited data and calling. The individual plan offers free access to Airtel Xstream Play, its OTT app, Adobe Express Premium, and 100 GB of cloud storage. Higher-cost plans add access to Amazon Prime, JioHotstar, Apple TV, and Apple Music, with the highest tier offering all of these plus Netflix.