The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has reportedly released draft regulations which can allow the telecom operators to introduce separate pricing for 4G and 5G services while formally recognising 5G network slicing as a premium offering. Premium 5G services with safeguardsThe proposed framework allows telecom companies to offer 5G network slicing, a technology that creates dedicated virtual networks for users requiring faster speeds, lower latency or specialised connectivity. However, TRAI has also proposed safeguards to protect customers on standard 4G and 5G plans. The Operators must ensure premium users do not consume network resources at the cost of regular subscribers. The draft recommends keeping peak radio resource utilisation below 80 per cent to prevent congestion and maintain service quality across the network.