Bharti Airtel launches Priority Postpaid service with 5G slicing

Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced the launch of Priority Postpaid, a new service that leverages 5G slicing technology. According to Airtel, this is the first such commercial rollout in India and the service will dynamically prioritise network capacity for postpaid customers.

The company, in a statement, said that the new service is specially built for busy customers who depend on uninterrupted connectivity for work, entertainment, or online collaboration.

Airtel's 5G slicing

For this service, Airtel has upgraded its 5G network with advanced capabilities of slicing technology. This makes the network more efficient, creates more capacity, and provides the capability to use this capacity in a targeted manner for delivery of a superior experience for Priority customers.

By intelligently and dynamically segmenting network capacity, Airtel is offering a stable and dependable experience for postpaid customers, even when traffic demand is high.

Over the past year, slicing based 5G services have been launched in many countries like USA, Singapore, United Kingdom and Malaysia. Airtel’s launch is the first such launch in India, which the company said reflects its continued investment in building a smarter, more resilient, and future-ready digital network and reinforces its commitment to combining advanced technology with customer-centric innovation.

“Our focus at Airtel is on delivering meaningful innovations that enhance our customers' experience. Priority Postpaid is our latest innovation powered by the 5G slicing technology. It provides a superior, more reliable, and dependable experience to our customers — whether they are attending a client call in traffic, or streaming at a packed concert, or booking a cab in a crowded market,” Shashwat Sharma, MD and CEO - Airtel said.

Important milestone: COAI

Commenting on the development, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Director General Lt. Gen. Dr SP Kochhar said it was an important milestone in the evolution of next-generation digital infrastructure in India.

“Network slicing is a cutting-edge 5G technology that has already been launched in markets such as the United States, Singapore, China, and parts of Europe. We are delighted that one of our operators has now brought this innovation to India, reflecting the rapid progress of the country’s telecom ecosystem. It is equally encouraging to see India catching up with the world’s most advanced digital economies in adopting such transformative technologies,” Kochhar said.

“With continued innovation and investment, we look forward to India not just keeping pace, but emerging as a global leader in advanced 5G capabilities," he added.

How much would it cost?

The company has launched plans in the price range of ₹499 to ₹1,749, excluding GST, with bundled apps, such as Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Netflix, as per the subscription fee.

Airtel has also bundled the entertainment app Jio Hotstar in the ₹699 plan.

The rule, at present, allows high-speed mobile services without creating any sort of discrimination in the experience of any content or service available on the internet for retail subscribers as per the net neutrality principle.

“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, or price access to different apps differently. It's important for Trai to look into this because this rollout should not lead to the degradation of experience for other customers of Airtel,” Nikhil Pahwa, the founder of Medianama, told PTI.