UK approves in-flight mobile calls

FOR MANY plane passengers, the fact that you were unable to use your mobile mid-flight was something of a boon.

Yesterday, however, it was announced that this is about to change as United Kingdom’s Ofcom gave airlines the go-head to install new wavelengths to allow passengers to call and text while on board.

Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries.

BMI and Ryanair have been the first companies to make use of the new technology, according to a report by the Times, with BMI hoping to have the system up and running by the summer.

Inevitably, airlines, service and satellite providers and networks all want a share of the revenue pie that this new service will bring: “The likely charges and distribution of revenue across the various involved parties is unclear it’s not certain who the winners will be,” said Deloitte’s David Tansley. “The losers will be passengers who find themselves seated next to a ‘cost-no-object’ mobile user.”