du signs agreement for flight connectivity

Dubai: du on Saturday signed an international roaming agreement with AeroMobile, a provider of mobile phone services to airlines, to bring in flight connectivity to its mobile users.

du's AeroMobile services will be launched by early 2008, the company said in a statement.

UK-based AeroMobile offers passengers in-flight access to their du mobile phones and PDAs. Designed to enable mobile phones to operate at minimum power level, the system has no impact on any of the aircraft systems or subsystems.

"We understand customers would like to stay connected with their family members, friends and business associates even while air borne. With the introduction of this service, du will add comfort and value to customers through state-of-the-art communication modes," said Osman Sultan, CEO, du.

AeroMobile will enable customers to use their handsets the same way as when travelling abroad. By simply switching on their mobile phone, passengers can instantly start making and receiving calls in addition to sending and receiving text messages.

Mobile phones must be international roaming enabled. The service requires no additional subscription. Once the service is operational, regular roaming rates will apply to call and text messages charges.