Department of Telecommunication has given green signal to inflight connectivity. Things you should know

Flight trips are boring. Not just because you to have sit throughout out the flying session with strangers all around, but you are also barred from communicating with your near and dear ones or do something comfy on the internet. Most geeks won’t prefer staring at the clouds below the jet when you have your friends are waiting for your participation in the next PUBG match. Yes, I am keeping my discussion limited to the Indian aviation industry, where the government has its own strict guidelines to stop you from using the internet or other communicable devices onboard. You can know more about it in this article.

Well, if the internet is a kind of addiction for you and you can’t keep yourself away from it even during that few hours of a flying session, Department of communication or DoT has some good news for you. Yes, you got it. Now you can watch your favorite videos or do other tasks online, make calls and will be able to unleash all your smartphone’s potential onboard very soon. But wait before you throw the party. Here are some things, which is worth knowing about in-flight connectivity in the Indian subcontinent.

A depiction of Flight connectivity

WiFi today is one among the basic amenities, and from railway stations to hotels, and from posh regions to airports, WiFi is available everywhere. So, why not in flight when we all have to pay a premium for a single flight session even if that is of 30 minutes duration. Well, there are technical difficulties, which I have described in detail, but technology always comes with a solution.

Availability and cost

You might get IFC services from the month of October, though it is a subject to vary from airline to airline, and chances are there, you might be differently treated depending upon the time you are flying, whether you are a frequent flier, size of the fleet and many other parameters. Charges will be around Rs. 1,000 per hour if the international standards are considered. Well, I know that is expensive. Inflight connectivity is different from the way you use the internet and other telecommunication services on the land. The service providers will have to provide the IFC services through satellite slots, which are pretty expensive. Most airlines will start rolling out IFC services as the airlines that will not be providing it, will suffer in the competition.

The world and inflight communication scenario

A bunch of airlines today are offering in-flight WiFi services, and Emirates, Norwegian, Turkish, Etihad, JetBlue are already offering the services, and the introduction of the same by the Indian airlines will surely be a big leap in aviation technology. Well, in those airlines as well, the connectivity is not free. The services should be rolled out soon once the fleets are ready with the necessary setups to deliver the services.

What are the chances it will be free in the future?

Though chances are pretty less, in-flight WiFi in India will be free anytime soon, but this can be the scenario a few years later. Yes, just like free WiFi in different public places. But the Indian aviation industry is suffering from huge losses, and Air India along with Jet Airways reported a $1.9 billion loss the following financial year. Introduction of WiFi services will be an additional burden for the airlines, even the services are likely to be heavily charged.

If the charges are really that heavy, most fliers will better look at the beautiful street view from the flight windows instead of paying that premium for 1 hour of internet. Though there can be corporate users, who might use the services. But data is an important part of the internet ecosystem these days, and our data might be further analyzed for something productive, which can end up making the services extremely affordable or completely free of cost. Well, I am really not sure how long we will have to wait to see free in-flight WiFi.

So that was it. Will it be a big benefit for you if you can enjoy in-flight WiFi? And if so, how much you are ready to pay for it? Feel free to comment it down below.