Telecom Industry Bodies COAI and BIF Skip TRAI Consultation on Network Slicing
Leading Indian telecom industry associations COAI and BIF have failed to submit formal responses to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) stakeholder consultations on network slicing technology.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and the Broadband India Forum (BIF) have not submitted their responses to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) stakeholder consultations concerning network slicing.
Both industry bodies, which have previously been vocal on the matter, chose not to participate in the formal consultation process. Sources within the telecom sector suggest that disagreements among COAI's member companies regarding network slicing prevented them from reaching a consensus.
COAI represents major telecom players such as Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea, alongside infrastructure providers and technology giants. BIF represents a diverse group including manufacturers, cloud service providers, and media companies like Samsung, Microsoft, AWS, Netflix, and OpenAI.
Past positions from these organizations have shown shifts. COAI previously argued that network slicing violated net neutrality but later revised its stance, viewing it as a technology that unlocks the benefits of next-generation networks. BIF has emphasized the need for consumer protection and transparency in network slicing, calling for operators to be clear about pricing and service quality.