DANUBE FAB: FREQUENTIS IP-VCS Passes Factory Acceptance Test in Record Time

Recently Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority (BULATSA) and Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration (ROMATSA) entrusted FREQUENTIS to provide more advanced ATM communication systems and infrastructure for the Functional Airspace Block (FAB) encompassing the Bulgarian and Romanian airspace (DANUBE FAB). Now - just four weeks after the contract was signed - the first system successfully passed its factory acceptance test at the Frequentis premises.

DANUBE FAB is one of the most important and challenging ATM programmes in Europe at present. The contract with DANUBE FAB marks the second of two European programmes mandated to the ATM innovator Frequentis. Just four weeks after contract signature in June, the first Voice Communication System (VCS) successfully passed factory acceptance in record time. Once again, the global market leader for communication systems in air traffic control excelled as a flexible and highly committed partner. The Frequentis experts enabled the customer to meet this elementary milestone for the timely cutover to the new system by the end of this year.

DANUBE FAB is committed to contributing to and driving the next generation of communication technologies in air traffic management in Europe. The contract with Frequentis will implement functional and technological standards utilising the power of IP for increased safety, flexibility and efficiency of airspace use for the global ATM industry.

The complete DANUBE FAB programme encompasses the VCS and associated radio network infrastructure for the DANUBE FAB ATC Centres in Bucharest and Sofia, and at the Approach/Tower Centre in Varna and Bulgaria’s Burgas Airport. The solution consists of networked all-IP VCS deployments providing end-to-end VoIP communications between the ROMATSA and BULATSA sites. The future-proof IP-network interoperability, using the EUROCAE Working Group 67 standards, enables safe and reliable communication with all neighbouring ANSPs and also air-ground equipment.

Dynamic Airspace Re-Sectorisation
The way ATM will operate in the future requires new VCS technologies: Frequentis actively strives to define the future of ATM with trend-setting technology innovations like dynamic airspace re-sectorisation that provide a model for the rest of the world to follow. VCS3020X - the fastest VCS available on the market - adds to this the ability to share workloads, network resources and management responsibilities. To ensure that no airspace is ever left unassigned, the handover of airspace responsibilities is conducted through an acknowledged workflow process, where VCS3020X guarantees a gap-free handover.