Bharti Airtel appears before a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) panel to defend its “Priority Postpaid” service after net neutrality concerns were raised. In its submission to the Committee on Communications and Information Technology, Airtel says the service is powered by 5G network slicing and is implemented in a “content-neutral” manner. The company argues that it follows the existing TRAI and DoT regulatory framework and does not involve practices that would breach net neutrality, such as blocking, throttling, or content-specific prioritisation. Airtel also denies offering any zero-rating or preferential treatment to particular applications, and it says the service does not degrade service quality for prepaid users.
Airtel launched the Priority Postpaid plans on May 19, marketing them as offering consistent speed for postpaid customers even in crowded network conditions. Airtel further states that restricting the use of mainstream 5G features to deliver such services would harm the development of future mobile network capabilities, including 6G.
