P&I/2009/005
Press
Release
Brussels, 2 April 2009
First European airlines
offering in-flight use of mobile phones thanks to EU-wide ground
rules
More and more European air passengers are being offered the choice
to use their normal mobile phone to send text messages, browse the web or even
make calls on board airplanes. One year after the European Commission put in
place common rules for safe use of mobile phones on aircrafts and for simple and
non-bureaucratic authorisations of this essentially cross border service, 27
European aircraft have been equipped to allow the secure use of standard GSM
handsets onboard aircraft while flying in European airspace. The number of
aircrafts enabled for in-flight use of mobile phones is expected to double by
the end of the year.
'The possibility to use a mobile phone onboard an
aircraft is particularly sought after by business travellers and younger
passengers. In addition, in-flight GSM offers are an interesting business model
for European companies. This is why a year ago, the European Commission created
a legal framework for companies who want to offer mobile communications on-board
aircrafts in a safe and simple way in European skies without having to go
through 27 different national authorisation procedures,' said Viviane Reding,
the EU's Telecoms Commissioner. 'I welcome the fact that the first airlines in
Europe are now offering in-flight mobile phone use. There are two conditions for
a further successful take-up of this new service: first of all, in-flight mobile
phone use should not disturb other passengers, for example by leaving ample room
for quiet zones during air travel, just like in trains. Secondly, attention
should be paid by the operators that prices for these services remain at a
reasonable level. If these two conditions are met, then offering on-board mobile
phone services can be a bonus for European companies in the competitive global
air travel market.'
In April 2008, the Commission introduced rules to
harmonise conditions for mobile phone services on aircraft across the EU
(IP/08/537). One year later, these enabling rules have allowed two providers of
mobile communications services on-board airplanes (MCA), OnAir (Geneva) and
AeroMobile (London) to start business in Europe. They associate themselves with
airlines interested in making such services available to their passengers.
Presently, three European airlines - Ryanair (Ireland), TAP (Portugal)
and bmi (United Kingdom) - are building up the service in their fleets: 27
aircraft have already been equipped and the number of MCA-enabled aircraft is
expected to double by end of this year. This constitutes a promising start,
while technical trials are taking place in other airlines.
Meanwhile,
the airlines are fine-tuning the conditions under which passengers can use their
phone on-board aircraft to ensure wider consumer acceptance of the new service,
and are analysing the service take-up on those aircraft that are already
equipped. Current indications are that the price of on-board phone services so
far start from approx. Euro 1.60 per minute for a voice call and approx. Euro
0.43 for a text message, depending on the terrestrial mobile service provider
whose subscription the passenger is using.
The Commission took
regulatory action in 2008 to allow for the safe and EU-wide operation of mobile
communications on-board aircraft, and create the conditions for businesses to
offer these services on flights that often cross several borders. This required
three steps:
- to ensure that the use of equipment on board - including
the passengers' handsets - does not cause interference with the aircraft's
equipment and systems.
- to ensure that mobile equipment does not interfere
with terrestrial mobile communications networks but connects exclusively to the
on-board base station linked to the ground via satellite;
- to offer common
rules and standards so that on-board base stations are authorised to operate as
a plane flies over different EU Member States.
A model for other
continents
The European approach has served as a model for use in other
regions. Several airlines outside Europe (including Qantas, Emirates, Malaysian
Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Wataniya, Virgin Australia) have been testing the
service or are offering it, with some 40 aircraft already equipped. Other
airlines have announced similar intentions. The prevalence worldwide of the GSM
standard (currently used by almost 3 billion people) makes the business model
attractive, as passengers can use their normal mobile
phone.
Background
Mobile communication services on aircraft (MCA) are
pan-European telecoms services. Two measures were adopted by the Commission in
April 2008 (IP/08/537):
- A Commission Decision setting out harmonised
technical parameters for onboard equipment for in-flight mobile phone use
throughout the EU. These technical specifications ensure that equipment does not
generate interference and forms the basis for the certification of airworthiness
of equipment for different airplane types by the competent authority (EASA). The
Decision is legally binding, ensuring the same type of equipment is used on all
aircrafts.
- A Commission Recommendation for a harmonised approach on
licensing which will promote mutual recognition between national authorisations
for mobile communications services on aircraft.
The 'airline roaming', or
mobile calls and text messages on-board aircraft is treated as international
roaming similar to terrestrial roaming services. The first examples show that
the tariffs are significantly lower than the in-flight fixed telephone services
via satellite links offered in the past. The in-flight mobile communications
fall outside the scope of the Commission's regulatory actions targeted to reduce
international roaming tariffs for voice and data, as they are considered an
innovative service on an emerging market. The cost of mobile communications
on-board aircraft is therefore fixed by the service provider. The European
Commission is, however, closely monitoring the levels and transparency of prices
charged to consumers.
Further information:
The EU Radio Spectrum
Policy web page on MCA
services:
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/radio_spectrum/topics/ecs/mca/index_en.htm
MEMO/08/220
For more information on the current MCA service providers
and their airline partners in Europe and elsewhere, see
also:
http://www.onair.aero/
http://www.aeromobile.net/
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