Bharatiya Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a State-owned telecom service provider, has received licence from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to provide Internet and mobile services on flights. BSNL and its satellite partner, Inmarsat, will be able to offer in-flight connectivity to airlines once the ground infrastructure and associated approvals are set. The DoT had notified its rules in December allowing airlines flying within and transiting through India to provide Internet and voice services on mobile phones along with an Indian telecom operator or licencee. So far, SpiceJet has announced that it will offer Internet access to passengers. Vistara has evinced interest in this service. According to the rules, passengers can make phone calls or use the Internet when a flight is at a minimum height of 3,000m in Indian airspace to avoid interference with terrestrial mobile networks.
