5G network slicing: India’s digital highway or a recipe for discrimination?

When India began its transition to 5th-gen mobile communications, the objective was to lay the foundation for a resilient, future-ready digital infrastructure capable of supporting India’s next phase of economic and tech growth. Trai’s recommendations on spectrum pricing, auction design and band harmonisation in 2022 ensured that India has one of the fastest 5G rollouts in the world.

Key enablers of advanced 5G deployments, including use of network slice from a telecom company’s public land mobile network (PLMN), allowing deployment of a captive private network, were approved.