FAA Enterprise Network Services Program

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Enterprise Network Services (FENS) Program will provide highly available and secure communications, information services, and networking capabilities required to support National Airspace System (NAS) operations and agency administration functions. The FENS Program will acquire telecommunications services, information management services (to support the FAA's System Wide Information Management (SWIM) data distribution capability), and specialized services such as Domain Name Service (DNS), time synchronization services, and enterprise-wide security solutions. 

On March 27, 2023, the FAA awarded the 15-year FENS critical infrastructure contract, which will usher in a new era in NAS and administrative telecommunications by establishing:
•    A truly modern “all Internet Protocol (IP)” network that will bring faster provisioning and higher bandwidths to operations.
•    A more secure and resilient network that aligns with Zero Trust principles.
•    An Information Management Service (IMS) service that will support SWIM requirements by providing content to NAS users as well as external partners.

The FENS program will leverage a service-based contract in which the contractor will be responsible for the design, provisioning, integration, operation, and maintenance of the FAA’s network, services, and operational support systems – currently an inventory of over 30,000 services. The FENS contract will provide required system resources to support FAA-defined telecommunications and information management service needs at Service Delivery Points (SDPs) within FAA facilities and required field locations. FENS will also improve operational resiliency and messaging services at more than 4,600 sites affecting both the operational and administrative domains.
 

FAA Enterprise Network Services Program Overview

The FAA is evolving towards the full integration of National Airspace System (NAS) data, systems, and people. Future FAA systems and the associated operational concepts will rely on the distribution of information to accomplish this goal. It is expected that full integration will provide resiliency and decision-making that is enabled by the improved access to information. "The transformed NAS will leverage this commercial infrastructure and applications that meet performance requirements to deliver services everywhere, always, and securely. Taking advantage of the diversity of offerings will allow the NAS to become more resilient. In doing so, shared infrastructure will evolve on pace with technology based on the commercial marketplace’s requirements. Advances in communications technology will offer the aviation community a broader range of alternatives for the next generation of aviation information exchange” [1].

The FAA Enterprise Network Services Program will encompass all required system resources to support FAA-defined telecommunications and information management service needs within FAA facilities and required field locations.

The FAA envisions that FAA Enterprise Network Services Program will support the following objectives:

•    Maintain the high levels of availability, survivability, security, and performance that are required for NAS mission critical applications.
•    Provide dynamic service provisioning, reconfiguration and configuration management capabilities.
•    Provide insight and visibility into the network service configuration and operations.
•    Evolve to future technologies that may benefit both NAS and Administrative users.
•    Manage initial and lifecycle costs for both NAS and administrative communications needs.


Points of Contact

•    James Greene, Program Manager
•    Jennifer Gendell, Business Manager

FENS Program Office Email Address: 9-AWA-FENS@faa.gov
 

References

Charting Aviation’s Future: Operations in an Info-Centric National Airspace System, dated September 2022: https://www.faa.gov/about/officeorg/headquartersoffices/ang/charting-aviations-future-operations-info-centric-national

 

Last updated: Tuesday, July 25, 2023