Telecom Expert: TRAI's 80% 5G Slicing Rule May Harm Ordinary Users
Parag Kar, former Qualcomm VP, warns that India's proposed 80% capacity rule for 5G network slicing could incentivize telecom operators to throttle services for regular users.
Telecom expert Parag Kar has raised concerns that a proposed rule by India's Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) mandating that 5G network slicing services do not exceed 80% capacity could inadvertently harm ordinary users.
TRAI's consultation paper suggests amending Quality of Service (QoS) regulations, including for 5G network slicing. The proposed 80% rule states that the utilization of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) for cells offering slicing should not exceed 80%. If this limit is breached five times a month, operators must augment capacity or remove the cell from slicing services.
Kar, who previously served as Qualcomm's Vice President for Government Affairs in India, argues that the 80% figure acts as a congestion alarm, not a fairness metric. He explained that operators could artificially keep utilization below 80% by throttling traffic for non-premium users while prioritizing others. This would allow them to avoid investing in capacity expansion, as the network would appear compliant despite potentially poor service for regular customers.
To address these potential issues, Kar recommends that TRAI should require capacity testing before network slicing is deployed. He also suggests that TRAI, in collaboration with operators, should jointly determine the permissible 'premium advantage' for certain user groups to ensure ordinary users are not unfairly disadvantaged. Continuous, minute-level monitoring of network breaches is also proposed.