# Indian telcos push back against proposed 5G slicing rules > Source: > Published: 2026-09-08 12:39:19+00:00 Featured Story ## 6G and AI are on a collision course Qualcomm execs say 6G will pave a path to better connectivity and sensing capabilities, but it will also intersect directly with AI use cases and a new wave of AI-native devices. Private Indian telcos strongly oppose TRAI's proposed 5G network slicing rules, arguing that they could increase regulatory burdens and restrict flexibility India's major telcos, including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, have pushed back against a Quality of Service (QoS) framework for 5G network slicing proposed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). In a response to TRAI’s consultation paper on amendments to QoS regulations, the service providers warn that the proposed rules may limit network flexibility, slow innovation and impose additional operational burdens. They also question the regulator's proposed approach to monitoring network congestion and ensuring additional capacity for cells used for network slicing. TRAI proposed [new safeguards](/5g/india-moves-to-rein-in-consumer-5g-network-slicing) that would make network capacity a requirement for telcos looking to introduce commercial 5G network slices. The draft framework rules propose that service providers take corrective action if a base station records Physical Resource Block (PRB) utilization of over 80% during its peak busy hour on any five days in a month. In addition, the draft rules say that no more than 1% of an operator's total base stations can go beyond this threshold in a month. It also calls for base stations experiencing sustained congestion to be taken out of slicing configurations if efforts to increase capacity fail to resolve the issue. As per the TRAI’s proposed rules, service providers must inform the regulator 21 days before launching any new 5G slice. Through the rules, TRAI seeks to ensure that differentiated 5G services, such as Bharti Airtel's Fast Lane, a network-slicing service for its postpaid 5G users, do not affect the experience of other users. The launch of Airtel's Fast Lane triggered net neutrality concerns, with critics arguing that prioritising certain users could potentially come at the expense of prepaid customers. However, the telcos argue that cell-level utilization is not necessarily a reliable indicator of the customer experience. "The mandate of advance notice for every new slice would slow down launches and limit responsiveness to market needs. Furthermore, disclosing detailed slice parameters in advance could reveal commercially sensitive product and network strategy information ahead of launch, weakening the competitive edge that comes with innovation," Jio says in its submission. "We submit that this will be a regressive step as over the years both DoT and TRAI's broader regulatory direction have been shifting away from prior-approval requirements toward post-launch intimation and this will be a step backward," it adds. Airtel, meanwhile, argues that telecom networks, especially mobile and 5G networks, are "inherently dynamic, shared and continuously optimized systems" and several factors, such as radio conditions, network loading, device capabilities and backhaul, among others, may impact its performance. "Consequently, a network engineer parameter or an individual measurement cannot, by itself, establish poor consumer experience, service outage or TSP-attributable service deficiency unless the applicable measurement methodology, causation, duration, materiality and attribution have been objectively established," Airtel wrote in its response to the TRAI consultation paper. Vodafone Idea, for its part, opposes the idea that telcos should publish detailed geospatial coverage maps on their websites with point-level accuracy of over 98%. "We strongly urge that regulatory frameworks should focus on measuring actual service outcomes through objective, standardized and network-wide QoS parameters rather than imposing compliance obligations on predictive coverage representations," says Vodafone Idea's submission. Airtel also argues that if deployment of a network slice impacts the service of other subscribers, it will "manifest itself in customer-facing QoS parameters such as throughput/speed or service availability. There is therefore no need to create a separate ex-ante regulatory mechanism merely because a TSP proposes to introduce a new network slice." "Network slicing is intended to make networks more programmable and responsive to changing requirements. Depending on the service, slices may be introduced, modified, activated or withdrawn dynamically. A mandatory pre-launch submission for every new slice could delay innovation, expose commercially sensitive information and create continuing administrative work for both operators and TRAI," the GSMA said in its response to the consultation. Read more about: