3 hrs ago
Telcos Oppose TRAI’s Proposed 5G Network Slicing Quality Rules
5G network slicing creates special fast lanes for certain users or services.
TRAI wants rules to make sure these lanes do not slow down regular customers.
Its proposal would require phone companies to add capacity when some cell towers become too crowded.
If they cannot fix the problem within 30 days, they would have to stop priority slices on that antenna.
Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea say these rules are too restrictive.
They argue that tower-resource measurements do not always show how customers actually experience the network.
They also say advance notice for every new slice could delay new services and reveal business plans.
TRAI says its approach follows safeguards used by regulators in several other markets.
The regulator has proposed several other service-quality requirements, including detailed coverage maps and quicker resolution of billing complaints.
Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea opposed TRAI’s proposed quality rules for 5G network slicing.
The draft would require operators to address cells exceeding 80% peak-hour load on five days a month.
Operators unable to resolve congestion within 30 days would have to suspend priority 5G slices on the affected antenna.
Telcos said the rules could reduce network flexibility, delay innovation and expose commercially sensitive slice information.
TRAI also proposed detailed coverage maps, a silence-call benchmark, faster billing complaint resolution and outage compensation measures.
- Who
- The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and telecom operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.
- What
- Operators opposed proposed quality-of-service regulations for 5G network slicing and several other service-quality measures.
- Where
- The proposals apply to telecom networks and service areas in India.
- When
- The operators submitted their responses on 2 September; TRAI issued the draft regulations the previous month.
- Why
- TRAI aims to prevent network slicing from degrading service for ordinary subscribers, while operators say the rules could restrict flexibility, innovation and ease of doing business.
TRAI’s proposed safeguards
Telecom operators’ objections
Need for network-slicing controls
TRAI’s proposed safeguards
TRAI wants safeguards so dedicated 5G slices do not degrade internet quality for standard users.
Telecom operators’ objections
Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea say existing customer-facing measures such as speed, throughput and service availability would already reveal material degradation.
Use of an 80% resource threshold
TRAI’s proposed safeguards
TRAI’s draft uses physical resource block utilization and a cell-congestion threshold to trigger capacity action.
Telecom operators’ objections
The operators say physical resource block utilization is an internal network metric, not a direct measure of customer experience, and that thresholds should be technology-neutral and outcome-based.
Advance disclosure of new slices
TRAI’s proposed safeguards
TRAI would require operators to prove capacity and provide 21 days’ advance notice before launching a slice.
Telecom operators’ objections
The operators say advance notice could slow rapidly changing enterprise services, limit responsiveness and disclose commercially sensitive product details.
International regulatory practice
TRAI’s proposed safeguards
TRAI says its approach is consistent with safeguards recognized by regulators in the European Union, the United Kingdom, France and the United States.
Telecom operators’ objections
Bharti Airtel said TRAI had not identified an international precedent for this specific framework and called it an unprecedented constraint.
Key facts
- Proposed congestion threshold
- A 5G mobile cell loaded above 80% during its peak hour on any five days in a month would require timely capacity expansion.
- Network-wide limit
- No more than 1% of an operator’s total cells in a service area could exceed the proposed congestion threshold in a month.
- Slice suspension
- If congestion is not cleared within 30 days, priority fast-lane 5G slices on the affected antenna would have to be shut down until upgrading.
- Advance notice
- Operators would have to demonstrate sufficient capacity and notify TRAI 21 days before launching a new 5G slice.
- Coverage maps
- TRAI proposed highly detailed geospatial coverage maps with more than 98% point-level accuracy and four coverage classifications.
- Silence-call benchmark
- The proposed benchmark for calls involving muting or audio-muffle problems is less than 1%.
- Billing complaints
- The proposed resolution period would fall from four weeks to one week, with a 100% compliance target.
- Outage relief
- TRAI proposed proportional rent rebates or plan extensions for subscribers experiencing significant network outages.
Quotes
Ambika Khurana
Vodafone Idea chief regulatory and corporate affairs officer
“If the deployment of a network slice results in material degradation of service to ordinary subscribers, such degradation would ultimately manifest itself in customer-facing QoS parameters such as throughput/speed or service availability”
livemint.com
“We submit that such a mandate is against the letter and spirit of efficient spectrum utilization, technology neutrality and ease of doing business policies of the Government and should not be implemented.”
livemint.com
Sources
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