Nod to in-flight Wi-Fi and calls

Air travellers will soon be able to make mobile phone calls and avail internet services during flights in the Indian airspace with the Telecom Commission on Tuesday clearing a proposal that is expected to be implemented in 3 to 4 months once the modalities of these niche licences are worked out.

At present, fliers are not allowed to use mobile phones and internet when they are in Indian airspace. Globally, many airlines are already offering Wi-Fi to passengers but they have to switch off the facility when they enter Indian airspace.

Availability of Wi-Fi is also expected to provide local airlines an additional source of revenues amid stiff competition in the fast-growing Indian aviation market. The apex telecom body has also approved use of such services on ships.

Telecom Commission has largely agreed to the telecom regulator’s most recommendations on in-flight connectivity with exception to one aspect pertaining to foreign satellites and gateways. So, as per an earlier recommendation of the Committee of Secretaries the satellite should be Indian and approved by the Department of Space; the gateway should also be in India.

Asked about the price at which these services will be offered to the airlines consumers, and whether the same would be market determined rate or at a premium, Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said, "It will have to be worked out on a mutually-agreed basis between the service provider and the airline. Each will have a service provider of choice with whom they may have international agreements".

In addition, keeping in view the long pending demand for grievance redressal in the telecom sector, the panel has approved the setting up of a Telecom Ombudsman. "We get 10 million grievances per quarter; so a three-tier mechanism has been proposed,’’ said Sundararajan.

Besides the present mechanism of registering a complaint with telecom operators, an unsatisfied consumer can now also approach consumer courts and seek relief; thereafter, he can also approach the ombudsman for redressal.

Earlier, a ruling of the Supreme Court in 2009 was interpreted to imply that section 7B of the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885 barred a consumer from seeking remedy under the Consumer Act. The complaint thus remained limited between the subscriber and the telecom company.

The secretary said proliferation of broadband through public Wi-Fi network has also been accepted. Under the proposal, public data offices will be set up like yesteryears PCOs. Broadband connections of shops, malls and public places will be streamlined to provide Wi-Fi services to people in and around their premises. The move will enable entities to utilise their unused data by allowing public to consume it and in return get credit in their broadband account.

‘‘The setting up of the Ombudsman for the Telecom sector is a great milestone but how it will be implemented is a big challenge considering the 100 crores plus users. The approval for Ease of Doing Business too reflects the DoT's strong resolve to revolutionize and streamline the telecommunication services in India. However data pricing through Wi-Fi is likely to reduce tariffs, but the good news that Wi-Fi will be chargeable can be a very good opportunity to increase revenues," said Hemant Joshi, Partner Deloitte India.