The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (trai)

On January 19, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) allowed air travellers in India and also those flying over the country to have access mobile and internet services on-board flight, thereby allowing In-Flight Connectivity (IFC).

In order for the airlines to make use of this allowance, and offer it to its customers, they must meet certain security norms.

For mobile services, there should be flexibility to IFC service providers in terms of use of technology and frequencies inside the aircraft cabin that should be consistent with international standards, said Trai. It also recommended that the operation of mobile communication on aircraft services should be permitted with minimum height restriction of three thousand metres. Moreover, internet services through Wi-Fi on-board should be made available when electronic devices are permitted to be used only in-flight or airplane mode, it added.

A Trai official, in a statement, said, “We have allowed both mobile communication on aircraft (MCA) and onboard internet as IFC in Indian airspace. Now it is up to airlines which one of these to offer.” But, generally all airlines offer Wi-Fi on board as allowing mobile calls is seen as “too much of a nuisance” for other travellers and hence, maintaining decorum and calm in the flight, was their priority.

Nearly three years after having recommended it by the aviation ministry, the final nod came.

Trai has recommended a separate category of “IFC service provider” which will be “required to get itself registered with the department of telecom and it need not necessarily be an Indian entity". Also, the regulatory requirements could be the same for both Indian and foreign airlines for offering IFC services in Indian airspace “To promote the adoption of IFC services in Indian airspace, the IFC service provider should be imposed a flat annual licence fee of a token amount of Re 1. However, the same may be reviewed and amended at a later stage, if need be,” Trai says.

The IFC service provider should be permitted to use either INSAT systems (Indian Satellite System or foreign satellite capacity leased through Department of Space) or foreign satellites outside INSAT systems in the Indian airspace.

“The deployment of a gateway in India provides an effective mechanism to intercept and monitor the in-cabin internet traffic while the aircraft is in Indian airspace. The onboard internet traffic must be routed to a satellite gateway on Indian soil. Such an obligation should be imposed regardless of whether the satellite in question is an Indian satellite system or not,” said Trai.