In a bid to ringfence its high-value postpaid subscriber base and make them stickier in the face of growing competition in the telecom space, Bharti Airtel introduced “Priority Postpaid” on Tuesday. The service uses 5G slicing technology and aims to deliver a more consistent, better, faster and reliable network experience for users, even when connectivity is highly congested. The launch is the first commercial deployment of slicing-based 5G service in India and takes place as telecom operators are focusing on premiumization of their users beyond tariff hikes through differentiated digital and network offerings.
Designed For High-Usage Postpaid Customers
Airtel said the new service is aimed exclusively at postpaid customers who need uninterrupted connectivity for work, entertainment and online collaboration. Airtel said the telecom operator has enhanced its 5G network with advanced slicing capabilities that allows intelligent and dynamic segmentation of network capacity to provide prioritized service to subscribers of the new usage-based offering.
How 5G Slicing Technology Works
The technology allows telecom operators to carve out dedicated slices of the network resources to use for specific users or applications. Airtel said this technology makes networks more efficient, creates a new capacity and ensures the best and most reliable experience for premium customers even in situations with high traffic such as crowded markets, concerts or commuting.
BREAKING:
Airtel Priority Postpaid Service Launched:
– This is 5G slicing (over the 5G SA network) #airtel #postpaid pic.twitter.com/0GWv96MbrC
— TelecomTalk (@TelecomTalk) May 19, 2026
Statement From Airtel Leadership
“Priority Postpaid is one of our latest innovations based on our 5G slicing technology. With Priority Postpaid, we offer our customers a much better and dependable experience , be it for a client call in traffic , scrolling through a packed concert or booking a cab in a busy market.” said Shashwat Sharma, MD and CEO of Airtel India.
Global Adoption Of 5G Slicing
Operators globally in the US, Singapore, the UK and Malaysia have already rolled out slicing based 5G services in the past year. Airtel said the launch is part of the company’s long-term commitment to investing in building a smarter and future-proof digital network.
Availability And Upgrade Details
The telecom operator said the Priority service will be available across all its postpaid plans and existing postpaid customers will get the benefit automatically. Prepaid customers will be able to migrate to Airtel’s postpaid plans via the Airtel app or by going to Airtel stores.
Plans, Bundles And Digital Benefits
Furthermore, the company includes a bundle of content and digital services in the plans. The Rs 449 individual plan contains Airtel Xstream Play, Adobe Express Premium and 100 GB cloud storage. The deluxe family plans provide benefits such as Amazon Prime, JioHotstar,Apple TV+, Apple Music and Netflix.
Device Compatibility And Eligibility
Customers will be able to access the service on compatible 5G standalone-enabled smartphones that are running the latest software versions. Users can check their device readiness and pending software upgrades using the Airtel app, Airtel said.
Subscriber Growth And ARPU Update
Comparative growth in ARPU, and the addition of 0.8 million more subscribers in the March quarter brought the total number of customers to 29 million. The average revenue per user (ARPU) increased to Rs 257 from Rs 245 in the decided quarter of the previous year.
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