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
