Internet While Flying in Indian Airspace May Be a Reality Soon

By Little India Desk | December 14, 2017

Internet surfing while flying in Indian skies may become a reality soon after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issues the relevant parameters. The authority is working towards allowing “inflight connectivity (IFC)” and setting up a rule framework by this month-end, TRAI chairman RS Sharma said on Dec. 13.

“We will issue the parameters for IFC of by the end of this calendar year, which means in the next 15 days or so,” Sharma was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

The government plans to have the first draft by the year-end and a final policy by March 2018, NDTV reported.

The Aviation Ministry put in the recommendation two years ago that IFC be allowed. Since then, the proposal has been going through various ministries, including the Home Ministry, for security clearances until it came to the Department of Telecommunications.

TRAI had issued a consultation paper about IFC two months back, which stated: “Department of Telecommunications (DoT), through its reference dated August 10, 2017, has requested TRAI to furnish its recommendations on licensing terms and conditions for provision of IFC for voice, data and video services and associated issues such as entry fee, licence fee, spectrum related issues including usage charges and method of allocation.”

The authority was looking into whether Internet should be allowed to fliers from the moment they board the aircraft until they deplane or when the aircraft reaches the altitude of 3 km. They were also looking into whether Indian fliers should have access to both internet and mobile communication services.

The two main types of IFC services are Wi-Fi services onboard and mobile communication services onboard aircraft (MCA). As per the telecom regulator, there has been demand for MCA services as well. The regulator says that MCA is usually operated at the minimum height of 3,000 meters above ground level to avoid interference with ground-based mobile networks.

“In light of the growth of ‘gate to gate connectivity’ worldwide, as a consequence of the removal of altitude restrictions on the use of personal electronic devices (smart phones, laptop etc.), stakeholders’ view can be solicited whether internet services be made available from the boarding gate of the departure airport until the disembarking gate at the arrival airport,” it says.

According to TRAI, a study predicts that the number of aircraft offering wireless connectivity will rise to 14,000 by 2022 .

“This study also projects that approximately 5,000 of these aircraft will offer both Wi-Fi and cellular options. In-flight connectivity has come a long way since its inception a decade ago. Since 2007, in-flight communication services have been introduced by airlines in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and South America,” the consultation paper added.

The consultation was open to public until Oct. 27 and open to counter comments until Nov. 3 on the TRAI website.

At many as 80 per cent passengers would use Wi-Fi if offered on board a flight, the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 2014 global passenger survey had showed.