INDIGO WANTS TO OFFER WI-FI IN THE SKY
IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, has shown interest in providing in-flight connectivity services to flyers on board, and has reached out to the department of telecommunications (DoT) on the issue.
Besides IndiGo, one of the leading satellite service providers also contacted DoT after the Telecom Commission cleared the proposal for in-flight connectivity services in Indian airspace on May 1.
According to sources, the DoT will meet telecom operators as well as officials from the civil aviation ministry in the next couple of days to chalk out a road map for proliferation of such services. Although no date has been set for the rollout of in-flight connectivity services, the
DoT is hopeful that the services will be available commercially within four months.
The DoT and the civil aviation ministry will work out the modalities, and licences will be awarded to in-flight service providers at an annual fee of ~1 initially. The DoT will create a separate category of such licences. Service providers need to partner telecom operators and register with the DoT. IndiGo did not respond to a request for comments till the time of going to press.
Since the proposal does not need Cabinet approval, the Do Th as already started working on the regulatory framework and the eligibility criteria for inflight service providers. The DoT was likely to garner more insights from operators and the civil aviation ministry, sources said. In-flight connectivity is allowed in the European Union, the US and Australia, and over 30 airlines offer the service. According to industry watchers, the price for in-flight connectivity in India could be much lower than in other markets. Globally, charges range from $9.99 for data packs of 150 MB to $15.99 for 500 MB. Most of the telecom operators Business Standard spoke to said they were waiting for the final guidelines before taking any decision on providing such services.
Licences will be awarded to in-flight service providers at an annual fee of ~1 initially