VDL Mode 2 Flight Communications Passes a Milestone with 2,200 Aircraft Users
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Annapolis, Maryland, USA, June 20, 2007-ARINC Incorporated today announced it has identified more than 2,200 individual aircraft using high-capacity VHF Digital Link (VDL) Mode 2 data link communications. The count includes aircraft that have logged onto ARINC's worldwide VDL Mode 2 network since 2002-more than 2,000 commercial planes from 40 airlines and about 200 military aircraft. VDL Mode 2 usage has been rising sharply since 2004, and most of the log-ons are ARINC customers.
"We are now handling 3 million VDL messages a month, and 90% of the growth has taken place in just three years," stated Steve Means, Vice President, ARINC Aviation Solutions. We're logging 80 new tail numbers a month as well. The fact we have already seen 2,200 VDL users shows how quickly the technology is being adopted."
VDL Mode 2 provides expanded radio channel capacity, vitally needed for Aeronautical Operational Control (AOC) and Air Traffic Control (ATC) data link services in much of the world's crowded airspace. ARINC has championed VDL Mode 2 and invested heavily in network infrastructure on four continents to provide a seamless migration path forward from the industry standard ACARS® data link which it introduced in 1978. Today, most commercial aircraft are delivered with VDL avionics as standard equipment.
The expanded bandwidth of VDL Mode 2-ten times that of ACARS-allows ARINC to offer a whole new range of flight information and AOC applications for airlines, including graphical weather, electronic charts, and engine/aircraft health monitoring programs. VDL Mode 2 also supports traditional ACARS data link applications via a hybrid service known as AOA, or ACARS Over AVLC (Aviation VHF Link Control).
A further crucial benefit of VDL Mode 2 is its ability to support Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications, or CPDLC, via ARINC's Aeronautical Telecommunications Network (ATN). ARINC has years of experience with CPDLC, initially in 2002 for the U.S. FAA's early CPDLC Build 1 program, and since 2004 for Europe's Link 2000+ program, which implements CPDLC for Air Traffic Control at EUROCONTROL's Maastricht Upper Air Center, controlling the world's busiest airspace.
"The rapidly expanding base of VDL-equipped aircraft, along with ARINC's complete domestic enroute VDL coverage, puts the U.S. industry in a good position to support the FAA's DataCom project enabling CPDLC starting in 2012-a cornerstone of the FAA's NextGen vision," added Means.
ARINC's GLOBALink air-ground network supports airline data link communications worldwide with more than 1200 VHF, VDL Mode 2, and HF ground stations, as well as satellite services over Inmarsat and Iridium.
ARINC Incorporated is the world leader in transportation communications and systems engineering. The company develops and operates communications and information processing systems and provides systems engineering and integration solutions to five key industries: airports, aviation, defense, government, and surface transportation. Founded to provide reliable and efficient radio communications for the airlines, ARINC is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, and operates key regional offices in London and Singapore, with over 3,200 employees worldwide. ARINC is ISO 9001:2000 certified. For more information, visit the web site at www.arinc.com.
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ARINC Incorporated
Brand Management & Communications
corpcomm@arinc.com
+1 410 266 4652
