Wi-fi over Indian skies

Under BSNL’s Inflight and Maritime Connectivity (IFMC) licence from the Department of Telecommunications, GX will be available to Indian customers across government, aviation and maritime

PRAVASISAMWAD.COM

A global leader in satellite communications, Inmarsat, recently confirmed that its strategic partner in India, BSNL, had received the necessary licenses to deliver Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) mobile broadband services in India. Under BSNL’s Inflight and Maritime Connectivity (IFMC) licence from the Department of Telecommunications, GX will be available to Indian customers across government, aviation and maritime.

That means that India’s airlines will be able to use GX for in-flight connectivity within India and throughout the world. Also, India’s commercial maritime companies will be able to improve the digitalisation of their vessels significantly. BSNL’s license will also enable the GX service offered to the government and other users. There will be a phased introduction of services for customers and partners. GX, operating in the Ka-band, is designed to span the world seamlessly.

Way back in 2016, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had announced that in-flight WiFi in India would be available soon. But it was only in 2018 that telecom regulator TRAI gave the green signal for in-flight WiFi. Following that, the Department of Telecom notified the final rules for in-flight connectivity.

“We are delighted that Global Xpress, the world-leading passenger inflight connectivity service, is now coming to India. We are looking forward to offering this ground-breaking connectivity service to our passengers later this year, when we introduce our new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. It will enable our customers to remain connected in the air as they do on the ground.”

Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet Ltd

The next step was for telecom providers to apply for a license and receive services via a local Indian entity so that data would run through Indian servers while in India. Various alliances were in the works, and multiple airlines announced about signing up for in-flight WiFi, including Air India. With the pandemic, everything was at a standstill.

Over the next three years, Immarsat is launching seven more GX satellites, including its next-generation GX satellites, each of which will add more capacity into a single region than the first four satellites combined. The GX gateway for India is located in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

SpiceJet has planned to use Inmarsat. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet Ltd., said, “We are delighted that Global Xpress, the world-leading passenger inflight connectivity service, is now coming to India. We are looking forward to offering this ground-breaking connectivity service to our passengers later this year, when we introduce our new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. It will enable our customers to remain connected in the air as they do on the ground.”

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