FAA Announces Major Communications System Upgrade

While completing this work has been seamless to the flying public, it is important because it means travelers can have a greater level of confidence in our networks, said Robert A. Sturgell, FAA Acting Administrator. The FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) network replaces the legacy telecommunications network known as the Leased Interfacility National Airspace System Communications (LINCS). More than 3,800 facilities were upgraded with 20,000 telecommunications services. Moving to FTI is a key milestone to support a secure, high capacity network backbone for the Next Generation Air Transportation System, said Administrator Sturgell. Instead of managing and operating separate legacy networks, the FAA is moving toward an integrated, modern and cost-effective telecommunications infrastructure. The successful transition of the legacy LINCS system to the FTI network brings the FAA closer to a single, more reliable network for transmitting voice, data and radar information to the nations air traffic controllers. It also offers a range of enhanced security services, including firewalls, intrusion detection, and encryption, and reduces the agencys operating costs for telecommunications services. The FAA, like other government and industry organizations, has ever-increasing demands for bandwidth to meet its information exchange requirements. FTI meets those demands in an efficient way. FTI also provides services to other agencies within the Department of Transportation, the Department of Defense, the National Weather Service and local and regional airport authorities.