Early implementation of Telecom panel’s nod to in-flight connectivity: Prabhu

Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday assured early “implementation” of the Telecom Commission’s approval for offering in-flight connectivity within Indian airspace. Civil Aviation minister Suresh Prabhu said the government will now “work towards creating the license framework” for a special category of service providers called ‘In-flight’ connectivity provider. According to the minister, who also heads the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the government will now “work towards creating the license framework” for a special category of service providers called ‘In-flight’ connectivity provider. The sector regulator said that foreign satellites and foreign gateways should also be permitted, “but there had been an earlier committee of secretaries meeting that decided that it should be an Indian satellite or a Department of Space approved satellite and the gateway should be in India.” Sundararajan said: “We have to create a separate category of licencee, called In-Flight Connectivity Provider.