The airlines can offer voice and data services in Indian airspace once an aircraft reaches an altitude of 3,000 metres.
Air India (Photo: Getty Images)
Telecom Commission has approved Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendation on in-flight connectivity.
In its meeting on Tuesday, the commission approved nearly all recommendations by TRAI.
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With this, the airlines can offer voice and data services in Indian airspace once an aircraft reaches an altitude of 3,000 metres. The service will be operational in three to four months.
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In line with an earlier decision of Committee of Secretaries, in-flight voice and data services shall be provided through Indian satellites or through satellites approved by Department of Space for communication purposes, with gateways in India.
A separate category of licensee called in-flight connectivity provider shall be created with a token licence fee of Re 1.
The facility of voice and data connectivity shall also be extended to ships and other moving vehicles (earth stations in motion).
In January, the Telecom regulator or TRAI had recommended allowing mobile phone calls and Internet services like Wi-Fi on domestic and international flights in India.
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