Airtel defends ‘Priority Postpaid’ service before DoT panel, denies net neutrality

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], May 26: Bharti Airtel has defended its new “Priority Postpaid” service before a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) panel, asserting that the offering, powered by 5G network slicing, neither violates net neutrality norms nor degrades service quality for prepaid users. 

According to the submission made by Airtel in response to a clarification sought by the Committee on Communications and Information Technology, the company said not allowing the use of mainstream features of 5G to offer services will jeopardise the potential of 6G in the country. 

“Priority Postpaid is implemented in a content-neutral manner and is fully consistent with the existing TRAI and DoT framework. There is no blocking, throttling, content-specific prioritisation, zero-rating, or preferential treatment of any application,” Airtel said. 

Airtel had launched “Priority Postpaid” plans on May 19, which promise consistent speed even in crowded markets for postpaid customers.