New Delhi, Feb. 6 -- Mumbai,

New Delhi :

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has begun testing mobile signals at the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), two people familiar with the development said, signalling progress on cellular connectivity at the facility that was inaugurated in late December.

The development assumes significance as billionaire Gautam Adani's newest airport has been operating for over a month without network coverage from private telecom operators, causing persistent connectivity issues for passengers.

"Bharti Airtel has commenced signal testing at the airport NMIA to evaluate the viability of providing mobile network services," said one of the people cited above. "NMIA has experienced that the test signals are ...