In-Flight Wi-Fi To Soon Become A Reality In India!

A survey conducted by Inmarsat in May, last year, showed that about 86 percent of Indian air travellers would prefer to fly with an airline that offers Internet connectivity. The study also showed that 60 percent of air travellers thought that in-flight Wi-Fi is more of a necessity rather than a luxury service and 45 percent of those were ready to pay for in-flight Wi-Fi rather than in-flight entertainment provided by airlines.

Flyers will soon be able to use data services on flights. The Telecom Commission, which is the highest decision-making body at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), is all set to approve the proposal for in-flight data services at its next meeting scheduled on 1st May. The DoT has taken all the necessary permissions from all stakeholders involved including the ministry of home affairs.

Here are the details about the Inflight Wi-Fi System which will be implemented –

• As soon as DoT approves the plan, airlines would be free to offer Wi-Fi services to passengers.
• Airlines will initially start with in-flight wi-fi but will slowly get into voice services.
• The pricing of the services provided would be left to airlines.
• Mobile calling service would be permitted once the flight is above 3000 meters in the air.

In August last year, the DoT had asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to provide recommendations on how to incorporate in-flight connectivity for voice, data and video services.

Here are the recommendations that were given by the TRAI in January which will be discussed in the meeting scheduled on 1^st may –

• There should be separate In-Flight Service(IFC) providers.
• These IFC providers should be permitted to use either INSAT (Indian Satellite System) or foreign satellites outside INSAT systems in Indian airspace.
• Internet services through in-flight Wi-Fi should be made available once it’s announced, that electronic devices are permitted to be used, on the airline.
• The services can only be used in Airplane mode and an announcement regarding this should be made after boarding is completed and the aircraft is about to take off.

Some international airlines allow passengers to use Wi-Fi free of charge for WhatsApp and other messenger services, which may be implemented on airlines in India because they don’t need much bandwidth. Lufthansa, Emirates, British Airways, and Delta are among the airlines that have implemented In-flight wi-fi services successfully on their international routes.

In-flight connectivity will make the journey more efficient and passenger-friendly. However, there are certain security challenges to be addressed once your phone or a device is connected to a network. The biggest concern is the higher chances of hack, and attack on insecure data and systems.

One more issue is the cost that will go into implementing this system on flights. Fitting the equipment to provide such services in an aircraft could cost around $400,000-$600,000. Initially, the cost to the passenger may be on the higher side.

Once the plan has been approved and the in-flight wi-fi system is implemented, airlines and authorities will need to run many rounds of testing to overcome the above-mentioned issues, but once the technical bugs have been discovered and solved, In-flight entertainment will get a whole new makeover on Indian flights.