Internet and mobile services provider Reliance Jio has applied for a licence to provide in-flight connectivity, Press Trust of India has reported.

The licence if approved enables the company to provide data services on Indian and Foreign airlines.

The mobile provider approached the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) following a notification by the government in December 2018, on its intention to allow in-flight and maritime mobile phones services.

Many companies expressed their interest and have applied for the same since then. Three companies were granted licences for providing in-flight and maritime connectivity till now, Hughes Communications India (HCIL) In February 2019 became the first company to be awarded the licence in the country followed by Tatanet Services (subsidiary of Nelco) the preceding month and Teleports Ltd (Bharti Airtel Subsidiary) was issued permit to operate for 10 years.

The in-flight data services industry is expected to generate $30 billion in the ten years; this can is attributed to the continued increase in air travel around the world and demand for internet connectivity.

It is estimated that there are over 23,000 commercial aircraft that will offer connectivity to their passengers by 2027, up from 7,400 aircraft in 2017.

According to Northern Sky Research's Aeronautical SatCom Market's, 2017 report, by the end of 2019, broadband VSAT (very small aperture terminal) connectivity will be installed on one out of every three commercial passenger aircraft, and will rise to two out of every three by the end of 2026.

The necessity to stay connected is not just limited to land and air usage; the maritime industry is also growing in leaps and bounds. The requirement to provide broadband to the crew and passengers, ease of filing regulatory documents online at the port or on water, monitoring weather conditions and generating data patterns for business intelligence is making players line up to grab their share of the market.