Aviation service providers such as Société International de Télécommunications Aéronautique (SITA) and Collins Aerospace, in India known as Bird Consultancy Services (BCS) could soon come under the telecom licence regime. Both agencies offer services like flight tracking and other communication between airlines and ground stations for which they are allocated spectrum.

In the consultation paper titled ‘Data Communication Services Between Aircraft and Ground Stations Provided by Organizations Other Than Airports Authority of India,’ the Telecom Regulatory Authroity of India has asked– “whether there is a need to bring data communication services between aircraft and ground stations provided by organisations other than Airport Authority of India under service licencing regime?” 

Spectrum without auction

The paper follows a reference by the Department of Telecom (DoT). In the paper, the TRAI has mentioned that both these entities have been assigned the spectrum without auction between 2006-10.

Commercial angle

While processing applications for additional locations, a concern was raised that operations by both M/s SITA and M/s BCS were not captive (internal use) in nature, and there could have been a commercial angle in the operation that involved a service rendered to airlines operators. A further concern was whether such services, being offered in a sensitive area as civil aviation, should be regulated under any “service licence,” it pointed out.

The TRAI, in the consultation paper, has sought views on “Whether the auction-determined prices for other frequency bands can be accounted for estimating the value of VHF spectrum in the frequency range 117.975-137 MHz?”

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