NEW DELHI: Air travellers in India could in the coming months surf the web while flying, with the government finally warming up to the idea of Wi-Fi-based internet connections on flights, meeting a longstanding demand of both airlines and passengers.
A senior civil aviation ministry official said his ministry has approached the department of telecommunications (DoT) with the proposal and will make a formal announcement soon. "The DoT has already said (informally) the proposal is possible to implement," he said, asking not to be named.
DoT allots spectrum, or airwaves, capacity to operators to provide telecom and broadband services. In India, only foreign airlines such as Emirates, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines offer internet connectivity on international flights.
Sanjiv Kapoor, COO of budget airline SpiceJet, said several airlines had expressed interest in the proposal.
"It is a welcome proposal, it is allowed in many other places of the world. In the US these days, it is rare to be on a flight that does not have Wi-Fi," he said.
Kapil Kaul, South Asia chief executive of aviation consultancy Capa, said the development is good for customers, especially business travelers. Surfing the web on flights appeals to travellers because they can be more productive or fight boredom.
Like the use of mobile phones onboard even in flight mode, Wi-Fi and other technologies require regulatory clearances. Airlines typically provide Wi-Fi services by installing on board planes a server that hooks up with a ground-based mobile broadband network or links to satellites.
The number of commercial airplanes globally with Wi-Fi, cell service or both is expected to more than triple over the next 10 years to 14,000, with Asia spawning most of the growth, according to research firm IHS.
Revenue source
For airlines, desperate for new sources of revenue because of their wafer-thin margins, Wi-Fi will be a possibly lucrative service to sell. But globally, the service hasn't been a huge money spinner for airlines because equipping fleets with Wi-Fi, especially via satellites, is costly and few carriers have found a profitable way to cover costs.
Revenues are scant because not many passengers are willing to pay for a service that is costly, slow (air-to-ground technology delivers browsing speeds of 3.1Mbps for an entire flight) or both.
Kaul said installation costs and pricing will be a challenge. "I see (only) Air Asia India and Vistara investing in on-board Wi-Fi." Air Asia India CEO Mittu Chandilya said he has been personally asking authorities to allow Wi-Fi on flights. He said he will have to look at the policy and specifications to comment on how soon passengers can expect the service.
Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara, said the government's proposal is a positive move as the needs and expectations of airline customers are ever evolving. He said deploying Wi-Fi on board involves planning and development of infrastructure with partners at multiple levels. "We look forward to the government's early approval and we shall work with our partners to soon develop an integrated on board Wi-Fi service for our customers."
Aditya Ghosh, president of Indi-Go, India's largest airline, said passengers cannot expect Wi-Fi on flights "in the near future." SpiceJet's Kapoor said his airline is very interested in introducing Wi-Fi on flights, but the first goal would be to install an intranet that flyers could access. Such systems do not require connections to external servers. Passengers can avail media streaming on their portable electronic devices, but cannot surf the internet.
Wi-Fi in airport
The aviation ministry also plans to introduce free Wi-Fi in 30 major airports across the country, said the ministry official cited earlier. "Wi-Fi will be free for the first 30 minutes and passengers will be charged a nominal fee beyond." The ministry has identified airports in metros and state capitals for the service. These airports are managed by the government-run Airports Authority of India (AAI).
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