Earlier this month, Bharti Airtel launched a new ‘Priority Postpaid’ service that will offer all its postpaid customers more consistent connectivity during periods of network congestion.
This launch of this preferential service tier — using a technology called 5G “network slicing” — has triggered a fresh debate in India over net neutrality, the principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally.
The question, for rival telecom operators, policymakers and regulators, is this: Should premium mobile users (read postpaid users) be allowed preferential access to network resources?
Here’s a look at how 5G network slicing works and whether it violates the hard-won net neutrality protections in place in India.
What is 5G network slicing?
Network slicing is one of the defining features of standalone 5G networks. Instead of operating as a single network, where all users compete for the same pool of resources, a telecom operator can divide the network into multiple virtual “slices”, each configured for a specific purpose.
Think of it as creating dedicated lanes on a highway. While the physical road remains the same, certain lanes can be reserved for vehicles with particular requirements.
In telecom networks, one slice can be optimised for ultra-low latency applications, another for industrial automation, and another for customers seeking a more reliable consumer broadband experience.
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The technology relies on software-defined networking and cloud-native infrastructure to dynamically allocate bandwidth, latency and other network resources. Globally, operators in markets such as the US, UK, Singapore and South Korea have already deployed network slicing for enterprise and mission-critical applications.
For Airtel’s Priority Postpaid customers, the slice effectively provides preferential access to network resources during peak traffic conditions.
This separate virtual segment within Airtel’s 5G network will allow eligible postpaid subscribers to experience more stable connectivity even in crowded locations such as stadiums, airports, concerts and busy markets.
According to Airtel, the offering is the first commercial deployment of consumer-focused 5G “slicing” in India. Airtel argues that the technology improves network efficiency and does not discriminate between applications or content.
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So how is this different from, say, a broadband plan that offers greater speed?
5G network slicing is different from paying for increased connectivity speeds on broadband internet, for instance. A premium broadband plan usually gives users access to a higher maximum speed under normal conditions, but all customers still use the same underlying network.
Network slicing changes how the network itself allocates resources. During periods of congestion, a user on a dedicated 5G slice can be given preferential access to capacity, while others may experience slower speeds or higher latency. In effect, broadband plans sell more bandwidth, whereas network slicing can provide a higher quality of service even when the network is under strain.
In both cases, however, all apps and websites will receive equal priority.
Why has Airtel launched this plan?
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The service will be available exclusively for postpaid customers of Airtel.
The move is significant considering that the company’s subscriber base is heavily skewed towards prepaid consumers. At the end of the March 2026 quarter, Airtel had a total Indian customer base of 482 million of whom only around 6% (29 million) were postpaid users.
The extra data speed boost could be an attempt to attract more users towards its postpaid service, which is more valuable to telecom operators, owing to its higher average revenue contribution per user, and their stickiness to their network.
So, does 5G network slicing violate net neutrality?
This is the question that lies at the heart of the current controversy. Net neutrality is the principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally, without discrimination based on content, platform, service or user category.
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Around a decade ago, India adopted some of the world’s strongest net neutrality protections after the landmark debate around Facebook’s Free Basics.
“As per my understanding of current Net Neutrality regulations, creating plans with higher speeds does not violate Net Neutrality, as long as you don’t prioritise speeds for specific apps, services or sectors, or price access to different apps, services or sectors differently,” Nikhil Pahwa, founder of MediaNama, who played a key role in the successful campaign for net neutrality in 2015, said on social media platform X.
Critics argue that Airtel’s plan creates a fast lane for customers willing to pay more, potentially undermining the principle of equal access. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT has begun examining whether the service breaches the non-discrimination principle embedded in India’s telecom framework.
Airtel, however, maintains that the service is fully compliant with net neutrality rules because it does not prioritise any specific application, website or content provider.
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The company says the slicing is “content-neutral”, meaning all apps continue to be treated equally within the dedicated slice. Reliance Jio has also argued that network slicing, as a technology, can be compatible with net neutrality provided it remains application-agnostic and does not degrade service for other users.
