Jio and Vi Push for Bringing Aviation Communication Under Licensing Regime

Reported by Tanay Singh Thakur September 17th, 2023 at 07:02 am

While the BIF believes the spectrum should be allocated administratively, telcos want it to be auctioned. Referring to the order given the Honourable Supreme Court in 2012, Jio said that the spectrum should be given to the players in the aviation industry via an auction process.

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Highlights

Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi) have recommended to the sector regulator that aviation communications should be brought under the licensing regime.
Both telcos have maintained that the communications services between the ground and the aircraft are important and use spectrum resources.
Note that it is not the data connectivity for consumers that the telcos are talking about.

jio and vi push for bringing aviation

Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi), two leading telecom operators in India have recommended to the sector regulator that aviation communications should be brought under the licensing regime. TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) asked for supplementary comments on the consultation paper - "Data Communication Services Between Aircraft and Ground Stations Provided by Organizations Other Than Airports Authority of India."

Both telcos have maintained that the communications services between the ground and the aircraft are important and use spectrum resources. While the spectrum used is low in quantity, the telcos want it to be auctioned from now on. Note that it is not the data connectivity for consumers that the telcos are talking about. They merely want the data communications between the aircraft (of a particular airline or private aircraft) and the ground stations to be brought under the licensing regime.

Jio said, "We reiterate our submissions that the air-to-ground data link to obtain information from aircrafts such as passenger information, aircraft engine parameters, etc. through "Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting system (ACAR)" is a critical telecommunication service for Aircraft and passenger safety and should be brought under permanent regulatory oversight by inclusion of a new Authorization under Unified License."

It is not just the telcos, but also the Broadband India Forum that wants this to happen. BIF said that, "we feel there is a need to get all data communication services between aircraft & ground stations under a service license similar to that of the CNPN license. This license would
be a ‘light touch’ one."

While the BIF believes the spectrum should be allocated administratively, telcos want it to be auctioned. Referring to the order given the Honourable Supreme Court in 2012, Jio said that the spectrum should be given to the players in the aviation industry via an auction process.