Telcos oppose TRAI's proposed 5G network slicing rules
What's the story
Leading telecom operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have opposed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) proposed quality of service (QoS) regulations for 5G network slicing. The companies argue that these rules could limit network flexibility and hinder innovation. They also fear it could affect their ease of doing business.
Regulatory details
Proposed rules go against the government's policies: Jio
TRAI's draft regulations state that if a 5G mobile cell is loaded more than 80% during peak hours on five days in a month, operators must take timely steps to increase capacity.
Reliance Jio responded to these proposed rules by saying they are against the government's policies of efficient spectrum utilization, technology neutrality, and ease of doing business.
The company also said that network slicing is a fast-moving capability tied to innovative enterprise-specific 5G services.
Competitive concerns
Airtel says rules could reveal sensitive information
The operators also raised concerns that the proposed rules could restrict their flexible use of auctioned spectrum.
They argued it could require them to disclose detailed slice parameters in advance, revealing commercially sensitive products before launch and weakening their competitive edge.
Bharti Airtel's director of corporate affairs Rahul Vatts echoed Jio's views on 5G slicing service quality norms, saying if a network slice materially degrades service to ordinary subscribers, such degradation would ultimately manifest itself in customer-facing QoS parameters.
Global perspective
TRAI defends proposed regulations
TRAI has defended its proposed regulations, saying they are in line with international practices.
Regulators in the EU, UK, France, and US recognize the value of 5G network slicing while requiring safeguards to protect open internet access for general users.
However, Vatts said, "TRAI has not indicated any international precedent for the proposed framework." and called it an unprecedented constraint.
Regulatory approach
Adopt technology-neutral and outcome-based regulatory approach
Vodafone Idea's Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer Ambika Khurana said the proposed parameter should be deleted.
She suggested that TRAI could adopt a technology-neutral and outcome-based regulatory approach focusing on actual consumer experience rather than internal network resource utilization metrics.
Khurana also stressed any threshold adopted should be based on conditions where network slicing is genuinely relevant and resource contention exists, rather than normal efficient network operations.