Vistara, a joint venture of Tata Group and Singapore Airlines is likely to be the first domestic airline who offers wi-fi services in flight in India. Tata group’s NELCO and Panasonic Avionics Corporation has announced a partnership for offering in-flight broadband service in India, starting with Vistara airlines. ‘We are delighted that NELCO is spearheading in providing the long-awaited Aero in-flight connectivity services in the country. Vistara is the first airline to sign up for this service,’ NELCO MD and CEO P J Nath said while launching this service. The passengers will access broadband services during their flight in Indian airspace. Wifi in-flight operates with geostationary satellites which beam signals directly to the antennas installed on the airline. Moreover, when the airline is passing over a water body compared with ATG (air to ground) based networks use satellites to beam the signal first to a transmitter on the ground and then to the antennas on the airline.
The telecom department notified the Flight and Maritime Connectivity Rules, 2018 who allowed airlines to enter into commercial deals with the telecom players to offers in-flight services, in December 2018. Also the rules applicable to ships in Indian territorial waters.
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