Indians ‘cut off’ from internet in flights, Maran complains; Telecom Minister says norms in works

Chennai Central DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran complained on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) about being “cut off” from internet access when flying, and asked Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to enable in-flight WiFi in Indian airspace. “If you look at the global map of the world, and you see, when you travel in an international flight, there is one red spot where you cannot get internet service — that is throughout India,” Mr. Maran said. 

In response, Mr. Scindia, who has also been Civil Aviation Minister in the past, said that it was for the Ministry of Civil Aviation “to define the rules” on the matter, while the Department of Telecommunications was also framing regulations around the matter on its side. The exchange happened during zero hour in the Lok Sabha.

“When we are developed, when we have our own services, and our Minister says, assuring that we will lead the world in 6G [technologies], why is it that you are banning internet services in our airspace,” Mr. Maran asked. “I travel from Chennai to Delhi. For two-and-a-half hours, I was without any internet or anything. Why is it that the Government of India is not making an effort to make sure that we get internet service all over our country?”

“It’s good to be away from your phone for two and a half hours,” Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla quipped after Mr. Maran’s remarks.

On top of requisite rules, “the airline companies have to place transponders on every aircraft,” Mr. Scindia said. “Only then, you can receive signals. So, the placing of transponders on every aircraft is also dependent on the airlines being able to do that.”

Rural coverage

Mr. Maran also asked why the satellite internet service Starlink, owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, was being made “so expensive,” arguing this would hit rural areas. “Why is that so? Why cannot we make it affordable,” Mr. Maran asked. “It is still a struggle to get broadband in rural parts of India,” Mr. Maran said. 

In response, Mr. Scindia said that Starlink still had two crucial steps to pass before being released: one, he said, was being administratively allotted spectrum to allow its satellites to beam airwaves down to terminals on the ground, and for earth-based international gateways to connect those satellites to the global internet. On this front, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was still calculating what the appropriate fee that Starlink and other firms like it would have to pay for such spectrum would be. These airwaves will not be auctioned, but a fee will nonetheless have to be deposited with the DoT.

The other, Mr. Scindia said, was that Starlink would have to undergo security trials to prove to law enforcement agencies to demonstrate compliance with lawful interception requirements in internet licenses. For this, the Minister said, “sample spectrum” had been given to all Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) authorisation holders. 

“Pricing is not something that the Government can dictate; it is something that firms can dictate,” Mr. Scindia added on Mr. Maran’s affordability question. “India has had a very strong track record of showing the world how high volumes and low pricing can lead not only to great penetration, but also great amount of revenue for firms. This has been demonstrated both in the mobile space as well as the [fixed line] broadband space.”