Digital broadband VHF aeronautical communications for air traffic control

This paper provides a first look at the potential for implementing a high-bandwidth air/ground (A/G) digital networked voice and data system in the very high frequency (VHF) band. The future communication study (FCS), a joint study performed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and EUROCONTROL, evaluated several systems and found the system called broadband-aeronautical mobile communications (B-AMC) to be a leading technology candidate to supply data communications in the L-band. Based on the FAAs desire to maintain operations in the VHF band and on the 2007 World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-07) decision to make 112 - 117.975 MHz available for aeronautical mobile communications, The MITRE Corporations Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) investigated the feasibility of implementing B-AMC in the VHF band and determined its potential for supporting networked voice using voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). Furthermore, this study examined how the B-AMC protocol layers can be tailored to VoIP protocols in terms of meeting certain performance measures.