OEP Plan Reference Sheet Data Communications
Data Communications in Support of NextGen
Strategic Goal – Greater Capacity.
Objective #1 – Increase capacity to meet projected demand and reduce congestion.
Strategic Goal – International Leadership.
Objective #2 – Promote seamless operations around the globe in cooperation with bilateral regional and multilateral aviation partners.
Strategic Goal – Increased Safety
Objective #5 – Enhance the safety of the FAA’s air traffic system
FAA has identified this program as a “Transformational” program for Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Almost all NextGen goals require digital data communications infrastructure.
Background / Need:
In the current system, all air traffic communication with airborne aircraft is by voice communications. Aircraft route of flight revisions must be communicated through multiple speed, altitude and heading changes, or lengthy verbal reroute instructions, and are prone to errors caused by verbal communications or entry errors into an aircraft’s flight management system. The use of voice communication is labor intensive and limits the ability of the FAA to effectively meet future traffic demand. Voice-only communications will not support the NextGen vision, especially in the areas of net-enabled information access and aircraft trajectory-based operations.
Programs and initiatives that depend upon Data Communications:
(a) NextGen depends upon Data Communications. Without the Data Communications program to effectively and affordably deliver data to and from aircraft, few of the expected benefits of NextGen can be realized.
(b) ERAM Enhancements. Achieving NextGen vision of trajectory based operations will require data exchange between ERAM and aircraft, as provided by Data Communications.
(c) Operational Improvements from future Traffic Management and other optimizing functions depend on Data Communications. To maximize the benefit of planned Traffic Flow Management and Tower Clearance functions, data exchange with aircraft, as provided by Data Communications, are required.
Programs and initiatives on which Data Communications will depend:
(a) Data Communications benefits depend upon automation enhancements. To provide data communications services, integration is required with ERAM for En Route, TDLS for tower and Common ARTS/STARS for TRACON operations.
(b) Data Communications depends on aircraft user equipage. For many of the NextGen initiatives, the level of operational benefits enabled by Data Communications corresponds to the level of aircraft equipage.
Solution(s):
Adding an air-to-ground data communications capability will meet the needs of the NextGen vision, while significantly reducing controller-to-pilot communications and controller workload, and enhancing safety. The Data Communications program will provide comprehensive data connectivity, including ground automation message generation and receipt, message routing and transmission, and aircraft avionics requirements. Initially, data communications will be an supplemental means for two-way exchange between controllers and flight crews for air traffic control clearances, instructions, advisories, flight crew requests and reports. Eventually, as data communications become the norm, the majority of air/ground exchanges will be handled by data communications for appropriately equipped users. Automated data communications will support the NextGen vision by enabling air traffic control to issue an entire route of flight with a single data transmission directly to pilots and their aircraft’s flight management system. This Data Communications program will progressively move the NAS toward NextGen by building incremental capabilities that reduce unit costs while enhancing capacity and safety.
Operational Benefits:
Data communications are at the heart of NextGen advanced airspace management concepts. The operations and services enabled by data communications will allow air traffic controllers to enhance safety, strategically manage the airspace, and meet traffic demand while constraining operational and life-cycle costs.
Analog voice communications can contribute to operational errors due to miscommunications, stolen clearances and delayed messages due to frequency congestion. In FY 2004 and FY 2005, approximately 20 percent of en route operational errors were voice communications related. Of those, 30 percent of the high severity operational errors were deemed to be communications-related. With total aircraft equipage, data communications can substantially reduce communications-related operational errors.
Data communications will enable controller productivity improvements, and will permit capacity growth without requisite growth in costs associated with infrastructure equipment, maintenance, labor, and training. As a result, unit costs (the resources necessary to provide air traffic management service per aircraft operation) will decrease. Data communications achieves these results by automating repetitive tasks, replacing voice communications with less workload-intensive data communications, and enabling ground systems to use real-time aircraft data to improve traffic management efficiency. Numerous studies suggest that with 70 percent of aircraft data-link equipped, exchanging routine controller-pilot messages and clearances via data can enable controllers to safely handle up to 30 percent more traffic. This increase in traffic handling ability has a direct correlation to an increase in NAS capacity. Data communications enabled NextGen services, including 4D trajectories and conformance management, will further improve capacity and efficiency by shifting air traffic operations from short-term, minute-by-minute tactical control, to more predictable, and planned strategic trajectory-based traffic management.
