# TRAI’s 80% rule for 5G slicing may hurt ordinary users, expert warns 2026-08-12T17:22:52+00:00 | Technology | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Telecom expert Parag Kar has warned that TRAI's proposed 80% capacity rule for 5G network slicing could harm ordinary users rather than protect them. TRAI's August 5 consultation paper says cells offering slicing must not exceed 80% Physical Resource Block utilisation, and operators must augment capacity or drop the cell if breached five times a month. Kar, a former Qualcomm vice president, argues that the 80% metric measures total radio use, not how capacity is shared between ordinary and premium users, so an operator could throttle ordinary traffic to keep the cell compliant while leaving genuine demand unserved. He suggests TRAI require a pre-slicing capacity test, before any premium traffic is introduced, to identify genuinely congested cells and force network upgrades upfront. ## Coverage - medianama.com Tags: 5G, network slicing, quality of service, telecom regulation, TRAI Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/trais-80-rule-for-5g-slicing-may-hurt-ordinary-users-expert-warns/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/trais-80-rule-for-5g-slicing-may-hurt-ordinary-users-expert-warns/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.