You’ll be able to use internet, satellite phones on flights soon

Soon, you’ll be able to use internet on flights as Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and International Mobile Satellite Organisation (Inmarsat) are going to enable this within a year.

"In about a year's time, we will open satellite phone services to private companies and persons, as well as offer Internet facility on flights and ships,” BSNL chairman Anupam Shrivastava told ET.

Moreover, onboard passengers will get data via a Wi-Fi router, which will become possible through antennas, linking it to the nearest satellite.

“The bandwidth would be provided as per the tariff rolled out after necessary regulatory approvals,” Shrivastava told ET.

BSNL has already received the go ahead from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

The satellite phones, as part of this shift, would come to the telco soon and have new SIM numbers. The first phase would involve the transition, which is expected to conclude by August end, followed by the stepping up of the network's broadband capacity and finally extending this capacity to aircraft and ships, Shrivastava said.