Colombian airports to rely on Rohde & Schwarz ATC communications

The Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia (Aerocivil) has selected CERTIUM VCS from Rohde & Schwarz to be installed at 36 airports. This contract complements the over 1000 CERTIUM air traffic control (ATC) radios installed in more than 80 airports countrywide.

The contract was signed in December 2020, and all systems will be delivered by the end of this year. The systems consist of compact IP based voice communications system (VCS) equipment and certified training, management and maintenance software.

CERTIUM VCS will be deployed in six main clusters, with each cluster covering several airports throughout a region. Centralized monitoring and management is provided at each regional headquarters, via an Aerocivil wide area network. Uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) at each airport provide additional redundancy for each controller working position.

In Colombia, air traffic safety, security and efficiency are kept in pace with current requirements. To meet today’s demanding requirements, CERTIUM VCS from Rohde & Schwarz supports our nationwide ATC infrastructure at its best.

“Rohde & Schwarz is proud to provide Aerocivil with the latest communications technology,” says Mauricio Samudio, General Manager, Rohde & Schwarz Colombia S.A.S. “We have a long lasting, successful relationship with our Colombian administration. This allows us to support Aerocivil's digitalization roadmap with solutions that allow them to continue safe operations and reliably meet future challenges. Covering the area from the Colombian Caribbean all the way to the Amazon rainforest, this contract is a milestone for ATC in the region.”

Multiple CERTIUM VCS systems can scale up to the size required by air navigation service providers, with the largest single installation to date containing 300 ATC controller working positions. Rohde & Schwarz has gained the necessary knowledge and experience from undertaking complex nationwide programs in more than 60 countries. Most of these are deployed and operational today, and include airports, area control centers, virtual centers, remote towers, offshore drilling sites, mobile towers and shelters.