Within this range of frequencies, FAA currently has 524 channels available for air traffic services. Agency and industry representatives agree that it is not possible to precisely predict when the existing system with its planned improvements will no longer meet aviation’s needs. To Help Ensure NEXCOM Will Meet Future Communications Needs, FAA Has Collaborated with the Aviation Industry to Assess Alternative Technologies

In consultation with stakeholders from the aviation industry, FAA selected VDL-3 as the preferred solution to meet its future communications needs. For example, while satellite technology is used to provide voice and data communications across the oceans and in remote regions, it is expensive, it does not support the need for direct aircraft-to-aircraft communications, and does not meet international standards for air traffic control communications. FAA Needs to Resolve Three Key Issues Before It Can Make a Final Decision on the Technology for NEXCOM

Before selecting VDL-3 as the technology for NEXCOM, FAA needs to demonstrate the technical and operational merits of VDL-3, certify VDL-3 as a “safety critical system,” and prove its cost-effectiveness to the aviation industry. Because communications are critical to ensuring safe aircraft operations, FAA is developing a process to certify that VDL-3 and the new equipment it requires could be used in the National Airspace System. The Product Team Lead for Air/Ground Voice Communications and officials from Spectrum Policy and Management, FAA, indicated that they generally agreed with the facts and recommendation.
What GAO Found

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides air-ground voice and data communications for pilots and air traffic controllers to safely coordinate all flight operations, ground movement of aircraft at airports, and in-flight separation distances between aircraft. However, the anticipated growth in air traffic, coupled with FAA's efforts to reduce air traffic delays and introduce new air traffic services, will create a demand for additional channels of voice communications that FAA's current system cannot provide. FAA and the aviation industry agree that the existing communications system, even with enhancements, cannot meet aviation's expanding need for communications. To ensure that the technology it wants to use for Next Generation Air/Ground Communications (NEXCOM) will meet its future needs, FAA, in collaboration with the aviation industry, conducted a comparative analysis of numerous technologies, to assess each one's ability to meet technical requirements, minimize program risk, and meet the agency's schedule. However, before making a final decision on the technology for NEXCOM, FAA will need to efficiently address three major issues: whether the preferred technology is technically sound and will operate as intended, if the preferred technology and the equipment it requires can be certified as safe for use in the National Airspace System, and whether it is cost effective for users and the agency.