Procurement News Notice |
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PNN | 3393 |
Work Detail | Passengers on civilian aircraft are all set to enjoy the benefits of long elusive Wi-Fi on board aircraft flying in and out of India, as home, telecom and civil aviation ministries have finally arrived at a consensus on the issue. Civil aviation secretary R N Choubey told Mumbai Mirror that his ministry would issue the necessary orders soon. "We will within about 10 days, allow Wi-Fi on board aircraft flying in and out of the country," Choubey said. The civil aviation secretary conceded that India had been late in allowing Internet onboard aircraft. "There was a security issue and the ministries of home, telecommunications and aviation ministries have almost achieved consensus on the issue," he said. International carriers offer internet at a cost on flights that are not in Indian airspace. Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) President Sudhakara Reddy who has been pushing for consensus said, "The civil aviation ministry has been contemplating introducing this service since 2012, but nothing concrete came out of it. It is however, under PM Modi's Digital India campaign that it seems this last barrier for WiFi has finally been broken." While terming it as a positive step for Indian aviation, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju stated that pricing details for accessing Wi-Fi at 40,000 feet had not yet been shared with him. "There will however be a cost attached to the service," he said. Officials in the civil aviation ministry revealed that Jet Airways was likely to kick start the service. "Their aircraft are in the process of being upgraded to offer the service. Once this is through, all other carriers are likely to follow," the official said. Besides Jet Airways, ministry officials said that Air India, Indigo, Go Air, Vistara, AirAsia and Spicejet had aircraft capable of offering Wi-Fi. Jet Airways has already announced plans to offer entertainment and communication options to its passengers through the passengers' personal electronic devices. Senior officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed that a core group of officials from the ministries of civil aviation, home and telecom had decided upon the services for which internet could be used inflight. These would include internet surfing, e-mail, social media, information on connecting flights, instant messaging, real time travel services and destination deals. "Internet telephony would still be barred on a flight. Also all existing rules pertaining to the use of electronic gadgets and mobile phones on an airplane will continue. So during takeoff and landing, these devices will have to remain switched off and not even on airplane mode," Choubey said. |
Country | India , Southern Asia |
Industry | Telecommunication |
Entry Date | 03 Sep 2016 |
Source | http://www.mumbaimirror.com/articleshow/53875824.cms? |