Govt allows airlines to provide in-flight Wi-Fi services to passengers

New Delhi: The Central government on Monday permitted airlines operating in India to provide in-flight Wi-Fi services to passengers, according to an official notification.

“The Pilot-in-Command may permit the access of Internet services by passengers on-board an aircraft in flight, through Wi-Fi on board, when laptop, smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, e-reader or a point of sale device is used in flight mode or airplane mode,” the notification stated.

Govt allows airlines to provide in-flight Wi-Fi services to passengers; pilot-in-command may permit Internet services accessRepresentational image. Reuters
While taking the delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 aircraft at Everett last Friday, Vistara CEO Leslie Thng had told reporters that it would be the first plane in India to provide in-flight Wi-Fi services.

In May 2018, the government had held detailed discussions with telecom operators and airlines on framing guidelines for in-flight data and voice services.

The meeting comes within a fortnight of the Telecom Commission, the highest policy-making body of Department of Telecom (DoT), clearing a proposal for allowing in-flight connectivity.

As per the telecom regulator’s recommendations a separate category of licencees — in-flight service providers — would be created for offering such services in India, and licence fee for such niche providers will be pegged at Re 1.

Globally, many airlines are already offering wi-fi for passengers, but they currently have to switch off the facility when they enter the Indian airspace.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)