AIR PASSENGERS could soon be shouting “I’m on the plane” after the telecoms watchdog announced an investigation into the use of mobile phones on flights.

After pressure from Britain’s major mobile operators and airlines, Ofcom is weighing up a review of the wirelesss telegraphy licensing regime.

The regulator has published a research paper that examines how such a service, which experts estimate could be worth £1.4 billion a year by 2009, could work. The paper looks at the introduction of services using frequencies at 1,800 megahertz, suited to some second-generation mobiles. It could clear the way for people to use mobile phones, laptops and other electronic equipment to call and text while in the air.

Athough some flight operators have special on-board phone services, the use of mobile telephones is not permitted on aircraft across Europe because of potential interference with on-board systems.

There are also concerns about transmissions from mobile phones on aircraft interfering with terrestrial mobile networks. Some mobile phone companies have developed systems that could overcome these problems and a number of operators, including bmi and TAP Portugal, will trial the services this year.

The operators are now pressurising the relevant authorities to give them permission to start commercial services. Ofcom says that research by mobile phone operators and airlines “suggests that there is consumer demand for such services”.

The watchdog’s document, which is likely to trigger fierce opposition from those unwilling to see the disappearance of one of the last mobile-free havens, raises the prospect of a regime under which either the aircraft captain or owner would be granted a licence to operate in-flight mobile services.

The airspace in the aircraft cabin could be treated as a virtual country, with the user “roaming” on to that system and paying a premium. The profit could be shared between airlines and mobile operators.

OnAir, a Geneva-based company, has developed a system that uses a small transmitter within the aircraft to send and receive calls, connecting them to the terrestrial phone network via satellite.

Aware of the potential backlash, Ofcom says that quiet zones could be set up, and planes could also have “system downtime” when passengers want to sleep.

The paper cites research conducted last year in which a third of people said that they would be willing to pay up to €5 per minute for in-flight mobile services.

Ofcom is just one of several bodies, including the Civil Aviation Authority, which would have to give approval for in-flight services. Although the regulator could go it alone, it is likely, for the sake of wider usage, that other European regulators would also be involved.

Ofcom states in the paper that “given the international nature of both communciations and air transport . . . it seems clear that any approach taken by Ofcom should be workable at least in the broader European context”.

It emphasised that individual airlines would ultimately decide whether they wanted to supply such services.

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