IAFI urges TRAI to permit data communications services

ITU-APT Foundation of India (IAFI), in its recent response to the consultation paper of TRAI, has requested that commercial data communication services between aircraft and ground stations, which are critical communications by nature, should be permitted under the Unified License regime with suitable technical, security and operational conditions. IAFI has also emphasized that such data communications services between aircraft and ground stations should be licensed through a separate service authorization under the UL regime through an administrative licensing procedure.

Bharat Bhatia, President IAFI, explained the broad terms and conditions for appropriate licensing framework, “the validity of the license should be 20 years with a scope–to establish, install and/or use radio transmitting and/or receiving stations and/or radio apparatus/Radio equipment onboard Aircraft, furthermore, the usage of frequencies assigned in the band 117.975 to 137 MHz should be restricted within the cockpit of the aircraft and restricted to operational matters.” He also added, “spectrum should not be used to provide services to the customers on board the flight.”

IAFI expects that it will be appropriate that administrative assignment method to be adopted in terms of assignment of spectrum, referring to the NFAP 2022 that the allocated band 117.975-137 MHz for Aeronautical Mobile (R) service on shared basis. Since multiple flights cross paths over sky (of specific countries) as well as same flights travel to different foreign countries it is critical to have harmony in frequency bands with international countries to facilitate flight operators with same frequency bands in 4 different countries over different make and models of airplanes.

For example, the frequency 121.5 MHz is meant only for use during emergency situations across the globe for all aircrafts justifying, spectrum in 117.975-137 MHz to the providers of data communication services between aircraft and ground stations should continue to be assigned on administrative basis.

Further, IAFI is of the view that the administrative assignment process should be followed rather than the auction mechanism of charging for the VHF spectrum in the frequency range 117.975-137 MHz and the administrative cost recovery formula should be used when defining the spectrum charges which is a fair, objective and transparent charging mechanism. IAFI also noted that the general pattern in international practice is to assign such spectrum on administrative basis.

CT Bureau