5G network slicing may lead to flouting of net neutrality rules: COAI's Kochhar

The uniqueness of 5G networks tailoring to specific use cases will be in direct contradiction to net neutrality laws in India, if network slicing and differentiated experiences are offered on the network, said COAI director general SP Kochhar.

He also said while operators are ready with their technologies to deploy 5G networks, they also need to be ready to handle the potential rise in cybersecurity attacks on these networks.

The flexibility of 5G networks arises from network slicing and edge computing. This directly negates the principles of net neutrality, Kochhar said at a panel discussion at the 5G India Leadership Summit 2022.

"The moment you start doing the permutations and combinations of network slicing, and edge computing, you are giving preferred services to a particular segment. Net neutrality does not permit that," he said.

Network slicing allows 5G operators to run multiple virtualised and independent networks on a common physical architecture. Each slice or portion of the network can be tailored to serve specific use cases, which according to Kochhar, will create differentiated experiences for different people, going against the principles of net neutrality.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) defines net neutrality as the concept of non-discrimination of internet traffic by intermediate networks on any criteria. "The network should be neutral to all the information being transmitted through it. All communication passing through a network should be treated equally, independent of its content, application, service, device, sender or recipient address," DoT rules say.

"In essence, the main network will be like economy class, and ones derived out of slices with different parameters can be business class or first class. Net neutrality says everybody has to be given the same type of service, that is where the dichotomy comes," Kochhar explained in a statement to ET.

The COAI chief further added that the deployment of 5G networks will have millions of devices coming online. These connected devices, be it sensors, machines, or humans, are all potential attack vectors. Operators have to be ready to tackle the potential rise of cybersecurity attacks.

"Cybersecurity has to be organically built into 5G networks. Are the networks ready in this aspect? No. We are getting there, but it will take time," Kochhar added.

At the summit, P Balaji, chief regulatory and corporate affairs officer at , called for 5G spectrum to be made more affordable.

“5G has meant more capabilities get driven, more applications come into play, and the adjacent industries like smartphones, healthcare, fintech, edtech, etc. proliferate, but revenue streams have not gone up, ARPU (average revenue per user) have not gone up. That's the reality we see the world over after several years of deploying 5G,” Balaji said.

If that's a given, it is all the more important that the street furniture is made available rapidly and at very low cost, on a shared basis for the four telcos in the country, he added.