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

Chennai Central DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran complained about her internet access being “cut off” while flying on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, and asked Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to enable in-flight Wi-Fi in Indian airspace. “When you look at the global map of the world and you travel on an international flight, you see there is a red dot where you don’t get internet service, and that is the whole of India,” Mr. Maran said.

In response, Mr. Scindia, who was also the Minister of Civil Aviation in the past, said that it was for the Ministry of Civil Aviation to “set the rules” on the matter, while the Ministry of Telecommunications had also framed the regulations on the subject on its side. The change took place at zero hour in the Lok Sabha.

“When we develop, when we have our own services, our Minister says, we will lead the world in 6G. [technologies]Mr. Maran asked, “Why are you banning internet services in our airspace?” he asked. “I am traveling from Chennai to Delhi. I had no internet or anything else for two and a half hours. Why isn’t the Government of India making efforts to ensure that we have internet service in every part of our country?”

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

Besides the necessary rules, “airlines are required to install transponders on every plane,” Mr. Scindia said. “Only then can you receive the signals. So putting transponders on every plane also depends on the airlines being able to do that.”

rural coverage

Mr Maran also asked why Starlink, the satellite internet service owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, was being made “so expensive” and argued it would hit rural areas. “Why is this? Why can’t we make it affordable,” Mr. Maran asked. “Getting broadband in rural India is still a struggle,” Mr. Maran said.

In response, Mr. Scindia said Starlink had two key steps to take before launch: The first was to administratively allocate spectrum to allow its satellites to send airwaves to terminals on the ground and provide 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 would be the appropriate fee that Starlink and other firms like it would have to pay for such spectrum. These airwaves will not be auctioned, but a fee will still have to be deposited with the DoT.

The other, Mr. Scindia said, is that Starlink will have to undergo security trials to prove to law enforcement agencies that it complies with regulatory response requirements in its internet licenses. The minister said that for this purpose, all Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) authorization holders were given “sample spectrum”.

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