In flight connectivity to add a revenue stream for telecos and airlines

·         DoT notified the Flight and Maritime Connectivity (FMC) Rules in 2018.

·         The rules allow the provisioning of telecom (voice calls) and broadband services over the Indian airspace and in the Indian waters.

·         Switching off mobile devices or operating them in airplane mode is mandatory during travel in India.

·         As per IFC is expected to contribute to $30 billion to airline revenues globally by 2035.

·         IFC market will open additional revenue oppurtunities for Satcom players and Telecom service providers which will offer services to foreign and domestic airlines.

·         Dot has issued FMC licences to Hughes Comm. India, BSNL, Indo Teleports Ltd., Tatanet Services Ltd.

·         Reliance has approached to DoT with license application.

·         Pricing Models

·         The average tariff for IFC services is in the range of $5-$10 per hour and $15-$20 for a full day service in long haul flights.

·         Indian citizens are used to consuming data at a low as $0.02 for 1GB on ground.

·         Hike of around 30% in domestic airfare once IFC services are launched.

·         IFC will never serve as a major revenue generation source for telecos owing to lower volumes involved

·         Industry reports suggests that installation of equipment in aircraft will cost around Rs 150 million per aircraft.

·         Airlines are expected to demand at least Rs 36 for a call, leaving little margin for telecos.

 Role of towercos in Smart City infrastructure deployment

·         The key smart solutions offered by these cities are in the areas of healthcare, mobility, technology, infrastructure, energy, governance and education.

·         The dev. Of network architecture for smart cities relies on 4 layers.

·         Physical, network, device and application.

·         The physical layer comprises existing fibre and street furniture in smart cities.

·         The network, device, and application layers are built on top of the physical layer to create sustainable smart city infrastructure.

·         Therefore the key is to built the physical layer.

·         It requires the following:

o   Effective use of existing city infrastructure such as light poles and fibre

o   Creation of a meshed fibre n/w comprising existing fibre to meet the growing connectivity req.

o   Installation of intelligent telecom infrastructure without any duplication to offer seamless voice and data connectivity

o   Setting uo of Wi-Fi hotspots in high footfall areas to effectively monetize WiFi networks

·         Role of Towercos

o   Business oppurtunities through the deployment of macro towers, street pole solution, fibre networks, IBS and Wi-Fi services

·         Key challenges

o   It has been 4 years of launch of Smart City Mission in 2015

o   Obtaining right –of – way (RoW) permission for laying fibre in smart cities is another challange