Wi-Fi may soon be available in Indian airspace which means you will be able to access the Internet when flying in India. The aviation secretary said on Wednesday that the government will decide on the issue of allowing Wi-Fi in Indian airspace in the next 10 days.?
Reuters
RN Choubey said, "The matter has been taken up with other government departments. You may soon get the good news as there is a broad understanding (on the issue)," Choubey said. However, this also introduces the possibility that air fares might shoot up because he added that the government will not interfere with the pricing of the service and added that it will not cap the same.?
The issue was deliberated by telecom, home and aviation ministries and it was felt there is no security issue in allowing Wi-Fi as voice and data can be tracked. If allowed, flyers will even be able to make WhatsApp calls using the Internet.?
Currently, no Indian carrier has Wi-Fi on-board because of the expenses involved. Foreign airlines which have Internet onboard are allowed to keep it on in Indian airspace only if they have a local server. And if foreign airlines do not have a local server, they have to keep their onboard Internet switched off for the time their plane is in Indian airspace.
The secretary made this announcement here at an award function of the Air Passenger' Association of India.