The surprising bit about Airtel’s recently launched ‘Priority’ service, where it uses network-slicing technology to provide faster and more stable mobile internet to customers, is that the backlash is nowhere close to a similar, global-headlines-grabbing move roughly a decade ago.
When social media giant Facebook (now ‘Meta’) came out with its internet.org initiative (also called the ‘Free Basics’ programme), it offered users a set of curated websites and online experiences which would not be counted against the user’s data cap, essentially making them free. Detractors lambasted the move for creating differentiated segments—where some sites would load better and be available for next-to-nothing, whilst others would cost the customer full data charges—as being against the principles of fair market practices, creating different tiers online and disadvantaging smaller internet companies and tech startups.
Whilst Facebook had rolled it out globally, it faced the maximum backlash in India, with hundreds of thousands signing petitions, activists protesting, and government regulator TRAI launching public consultations. The regulator then famously ruled in favour of net neutrality and banned the splitting of the internet into tiers.
Fast forward to 2026, Bharti Airtel may just have sort of packaged old wine in a new bottle, though the company argues that technology makes its new ‘Priority’ innovation a whole lot different and not discriminating in any way.
Airtel claims the service, launched last week and covering all its postpaid users presently, delivers “a superior and more dependable network experience for postpaid customers,” according to an official statement.
Shashwat Sharma, MD & CEO of Airtel India, added, “Priority… is our latest innovation powered by 5G slicing technology. It provides a superior, more reliable and dependable experience to our customers.”
However, the million-dollar question is this: when you prioritise one band of customers with a superior service experience, doesn’t that automatically mean an inferior service for the rest?
Like its massive, 33-crore or so prepaid clientele?
Airtel officially claims its network-slicing venture remains fully within India’s net-neutrality framework; its representatives did not respond to a request from The Week for additional information. But in a letter to the Department of Telecommunications on Monday, the Sunil Bharti Mittal-promoted company claimed that the new feature was fully compliant with TRAI regulations, Department of Telecommunications licence conditions, and relevant norms.
Less than 3 crore out of its total 36 crore subscribers in the country are postpaid users, who now enjoy the Priority red carpet. The remaining, majority prepaid users are either still unaware of the new feature or perhaps still not roused enough.
But the regulator has already stepped in. According to a news report, Airtel officials were summoned by TRAI on Wednesday to brief them about the new offering.
The issue has prompted the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and IT to not just look into this specific issue of net neutrality, but also to check whether service quality was being affected and whether digital platforms were offering differentiated access for users paying a premium.
Meanwhile, Airtel’s competitors are not letting the opportunity pass them by. On Thursday, its otherwise-beleaguered rival Vodafone Idea (Vi) stepped in to cock a snook at Airtel, talking about equality of service.
“Offering preferential speeds or services based on user profile raises questions around equity and principles of an equal digital ecosystem,” said Avneesh Khosla, Chief Marketing Officer of Vi.
Market leader (and Airtel rival) Jio had also recently said it was not looking to introduce any network slicing for everyday mobility voice or data services whilst awaiting regulatory clarity on the matter.
