[Scan-DC] Are ATC comms going digital?

[Dewey3]

Maybe narrow-banding ?  I know that's been kicked around in the past.

Dewey

On Tue, Dec 9, 2025, 13:54 Andrew Clegg <andrew_w_clegg at hotmail.com> wrote:

> The FAA says they’re replacing 27,625 radios as part of the transition.
> That doesn’t sound like phone circuits and fiber connections. I wonder what
> radios they’re referring to.
>
> Andy
>
> > On Dec 9, 2025, at 11:51 AM, Eric C. Carlson <ecarlson at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > That seems to be dealing with backhaul, such as converting from analog
> > phone circuits to digital fiber connections for example. I doubt
> > VHF-AM voice is going anywhere soon. There is the ICAO LDACS
> > initiative if you're curious about future air-ground digital comms
> > beyond what is already done today (CPDLC, ADS-C, ACARS/VDL, etc.).
> >
> > -Eric
> >
> >> On Mon, Dec 8, 2025 at 6:31 PM Andrew Clegg <andrew_w_clegg at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> Peraton was recently announced as the prime integrator for the FAA's
> "Brand New Air Traffic Control System" (BNATCS) funded by the One Big
> Beautiful Bill Act. One of the many tasks is converting analog radios to
> digital, according to the Request for Solutions issued this past August. I
> can't immediately find a lot of specifics, but general AI inquiries
> indicate that ATC communications will be transitioning to digital in the
> coming few years, and a DoT fact sheet quotes 27,625 new radios will be
> installed by the end of 2028. Is ATC going digital? Will some or all of it
> be encrypted? How are we coordinating with the rest of the world? Or am I
> misunderstanding what's going on?
> >>
> >>
> https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/d000f013f40944acb523460a474e4270/view
> >> https://www.faa.gov/FlightCommand
> >>
> https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2025-12/Brand%20News%20Air%20Traffic%20Control%20System%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
> >>
> https://avweb.com/aviation-news/dot-names-prime-integrator-new-atc-system/
> >>
> >>
> >> 73,
> >> W4JE
> >>
> >> ______________________________________________________________
> >> Scan-DC mailing list
> >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/scan-dc
> >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> >> Post: mailto:Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net
> >>
> >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net/
> >> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> ______________________________________________________________
> Scan-DC mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/scan-dc
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html