ATC
Datalink decisions are urgent, but true consensus is lacking
A recent FAA briefing note concluded, “The future of ATC is all about data communications,” and government and industry officials, both in the U.S.

A recent FAA briefing note concluded, “The future of ATC is all about data communications,” and government and industry officials, both in the U.S. and overseas, are in complete agreement with this view. The problem facing aviation is that these same officials seem to be in agreement on precious little else.

There are two separate datalink applications that are being fought over. In both cases, the need for datalink is unquestioned–the controversy is over which technique should be chosen. The first involves the method by which data will be transmitted to support automatic dependent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B), and the second is a similar concern over the transmission of digital VHF ATC data for controller/pilot datalink communications.