The Seamless Air Alliance, which continues to lead the development and implementation of Global Standards for Inflight Connectivity, and the GSMA, the global organisation unifying the world’s mobile ecosystem, are to collaborate to facilitate and accelerate the availability of seamless mobile roaming onboard commercial airlines.

In recent months, collaboration between mobile network operators (MNO) and US-based carriers such as American, Delta, United and Alaska Airlines have provided a preview of what the future holds for similar agreements. This latest announcement between the Seamless Air Alliance and the GSMA will help drive cooperation between global carriers and mobile network operators worldwide.

The two bodies said they have complementary visions, the GSMA’s is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive, whereas the Seamless Air Alliance wishes to extend the connectivity experience on the ground to airline passengers in the sky. This collaboration will enable the organisations to co-create a scalable roaming framework that is backed by the industry and will bring proper connectivity to the skies above us. 

Commenting on this announcement, Jack Mandala, chief executive of the Seamless Air Alliance said: “Working with the GSMA positions us in front of over 750 mobile network operators and other service providers, paving the way to open dialogue and cooperation in bringing roaming services to airlines worldwide. The agreement with the GSMA is a ringing validation of our goal to bring seamless connectivity to airlines and their passengers”

Under the announced agreement, the Seamless Air Alliance and the GSMA will work together to develop contract and request for proposal templates to assist with roaming proposals and negotiations, leveraging the GSMA’s decades of expertise.

 Alex Sinclair, CTO of the GSMA added that: “We’ve come a long way since the first SMS was sent in 1992, but even now there is no guarantee that airline passengers can connect with their contacts on the ground during a flight. Our collaboration with the Seamless Air Alliance will facilitate and accelerate agreements between airlines and MNOs around their own route network to improve connectivity. We are excited to work with members of the Seamless Air Alliance to bring mobile roaming to the skies and deliver the best possible customer experience for airline passengers.”