As per recent media reports the Department of Telecommunications is seen to have informally agreed to allow the use of Wi-Fi while in flight in Indian air space. Certain media reports indicate that the Government might soon permit the idea of Wi-Fi based internet connections on flights, meeting a longstanding demand of both airlines and passengers.

Presently, the internet connectivity service is not permitted for the Indian carriers and only foreign airlines such as Emirates, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines offer internet connectivity on international flights. Airlines typically provide Wi-Fi services by installing a server on board planes, which connects with a ground-based mobile broadband network or links to the satellites.

This is a matter of regulatory clearances, similar to the use of mobile phones onboard even in the flight mode.

From, the perspective of the revenues of airlines, the permission to offer in-flight Wi-Fi would open up a separate revenue stream for the airline players as well.

As per an additional proposal, the aviation ministry has plans to introduce free Wi-Fi at 30 major airports across India, which are managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and subsequently with a small charge.