The Telecom Commission has approved TRAI’s recommendations for offering voice & data services in flights within Indian airspace. This means that air travellers in India will soon have access to the internet and make calls from their mobile phones while flying. Telecom Commission today approved TRAI’s recommendations for offering voice & data services in flights within Indian airspace . @Secretary_DoT briefed media persons after meeting of Telecom Commission held today. 1/5 @TRAI pic.twitter.com/ml5qRtR2r0 — DoT India (@DoT_India) May 1, 2018 The decision will allow airlines to offer these services once they meet certain security norms. Internet access can be provided only when boarding is over and the aircraft is about to taxi. Mobile communication will be allowed when the aircraft has risen to about 3,000 metres in altitude. The 3000-metre minimum altitude restriction has been done to ensure “compatibility with terrestrial mobile networks”. In January, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had recommended that in-flight connectivity — both Internet and MCA (mobile communication on aircraft) services — should be allowed over Indian airspace. In October 2017, the TRAI had released a consultation paper calling for views from stakeholders about whether or not in-flight connectivity should be allowed in India, and the government licensing framework for this. According to the recommendation paper released by TRAI, many stakeholders were of the view that “at present only Internet service should be considered because its demand is more than MCA service.” Stakeholders had raised concerns over the regulatory framework governing mobile telephony and issues such as interference, roaming, spectrum usage, quality of…
