BIF seeks direct spectrum for Air-to-ground communication

Broadband India Forum (BIF) said data communications between aircraft and ground stations should be permitted under a similar licensing regime as the Captive Non-Public Network (CNPN) licence and that it should be light touch in nature.

The policy think tank, which has among its members leading IT companies and telecom equipment makers, said the spectrum for the critical function should be allocated administratively. BIF's views are part of its submissions to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on the issue.

BIF said data communications between aircraft and ground stations is strategic and falls under critical communications.


It said this is also similar to captive networks, which are being regulated under the CNPN licence, and the spectrum allotted is used entirely for the strategically vital communications between the aircraft and ground stations and is not part of any public communication service or public internet service.