Airtel said that data related to 5G slicing has been transparently shared with the regulator
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS
New Delhi, June 10: Bharti Airtel (Airtel) has rebranded its Priority Postpaid service to “Fast Lane” within a few days of its launch, but the company said everything that was offered remains the same adding that it was not withdrawing its plan, and the customers do not have to worry about any changes.
“There is no question of withdrawal of our new post paid plan. To the contrary, we have had a satisfying response to the launch of our new plan backed by 5G slicing technology. In fact, with this launch, we are seeing an improvement in the delivered experience across both prepaid and postpaid users,” said a company spokesperson to queries sent by businessline.
This is primarily because the deployment of the company’s new standalone network has increased network efficiency for all, the spokesperson said.
“Our new post paid plan is available to all customers in a simple, transparent, and ubiquitous way. Using our slicing technology, we are able to offer our postpaid users enhanced speed. While doing this, we also have comprehensive data to show that prepaid users continue to enjoy the very same experience they have had before we launched this technology. In other words, slicing has no impact on the experience for prepaid users,” the spokesperson said.
Global Standards
Airtel further highlighted that this data has been transparently shared with the regulator.
“Importantly, what we have done is consistent with the global standards that this technology uses in several countries such as the US, UK, Korea and Singapore where it has been launched,” the company added.
Since its launch of the new postpaid services on May 19, the Airtel Priority triggered net neutrality debate, with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) also calling company officials to explain about the new services.
The principles of net neutrality were framed to defend the rights of low-paying customers to have non-discriminatory access to the Internet. A Parliamentary Committee, on May 26 also sought answers from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and TRAI to review the impact of 5G network slicing services in Singapore, the UK and a few other nations.
No Degradation
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, headed by BJP leader Nishikant Dubey, noted that the Priority Postpaid plan of certain telecom operators could compromise the net neutrality of crores of prepaid mobile users. The Committee then asked the DoT and the TRAI to get back with their responses in 25 days, when the panel will meet again.
However, Airtel has defended its new service before a Parliamentary panel, asserting that the offering, powered by 5G network slicing, neither violates net neutrality norms nor degrades service quality for prepaid users.
On the latest nomenclature, the company said, “Our launch campaign has ended. And, our descriptor to signal what we are doing – ‘Fast Lane’ – captures the essence of what we offer. Our postpaid users continue to remain on a slice. So, every user who chooses our postpaid plan and has a 5G-capable device gets an enhanced experience. Faster speeds, unlimited data, and exceptional service.”
Meanwhile, Airtel on Wednesday said it has deployed more than 2,900 new 5G network sites across 77 districts over the past 12 months that provides reliable high-speed connectivity to over 28.6 million customers across bustling cities and fast-growing towns to remote rural villages of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Published on June 10, 2026
