Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom operator, on Monday said it has joined a global alliance which will use satellite technology to offer uninterrupted, high-speed internet connectivity to mobile users when they are in a flight.
While in-flight internet access through Wi-Fi is allowed in several countries, it was only last month that telecom regulator Trai recommended allowing data connectivity on domestic and international flights in India.
Trai recommendation to the government was also to allow making phone calls once an aircraft reaches an altitude of 3,000 meters.
“Airtel has joined the Seamless Alliance which will usher in a new era of open innovation for mobile operators and airlines by empowering mobile operators to extend their services into airline cabins,” the company said in a statement.
The global consortium, which has OneWeb, Airbus, Delta and Sprint among its founding members, will work towards leveraging satellite technology to offer high-speed data connectivity to mobile users even when they are up in the air, it added.
The global initiative announced on Monday in Barcelona (where the Mobile World Congress 2018 is currently on) will also look at bringing into its fold other industry operators beyond the five founding members.
Together, these members hope to ‘eliminate the immense costs and hurdles commonly associated with acquisition, installation, and operation of data access infrastructure’.