Rohde & Schwarz wins international tender for three voice communications systems in Scotland

Rohde & Schwarz has received the order to deliver its R&S VCS-4G state-of-the-art voice communications system to the Stornoway, Benbecula and Wick Airports in Scotland.

Highlands & Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) has placed an order with Rohde & Schwarz for three new voice communications systems at its ATC towers in the Stornoway, Benbecula and Wick Airports. The three fully IP-based R&S VCS-4G systems will be deployed in a redundant core architecture and provide interconnection interfaces to the customer's existing analog radios and analog telephone lines. The complete systems solution from Rohde & Schwarz is in line with the EUROCAE ED-137 standard. Gateways are used to interconnect to existing radio stations and PABXs with analog interfaces, protecting customer investments made in the past. The existing voice recording system with analog audio interfaces will also be integrated. Using VoIP interfaces in line with EUROCAE ED 137 standards, the new voice communications system will be ready for future, scalable VoIP-based extensions. A radio bypass system will be provided for emergency communications.

Michael Schuermann, Director of ATC/AD Communcations Systems at Rohde & Schwarz said, "We are glad that HIAL has put its trust in Rohde & Schwarz with its fully IP-based voice communications system and our proven expertise in state-of-the-art VoIP technology and careful project implementation. This continuing success all over the world and especially in Western Europe reflects our innovative power and technological leadership in ATC as well as our commitment to deliver highly reliable, state-of-the-art systems that fully satisfy all customer needs."

Voice over IP (VoIP) in line with EUROCAE ED-137 has established itself as the communications technology for ATC, replacing the obsolete TDM-based systems. The fully IP-based R&S VCS-4G voice communications system adheres to this standard. The R&S VCS-4G features a redundant design with an extensive number of interfaces to external systems such as voice recording systems and telephone lines. Due to its unique architecture, the system is highly scalable and can be easily expanded without replacing existing equipment. The R&S VCS-4G features next-generation ATC requirements such as asset sharing, facility consolidation, geographical distribution, virtual center and remote tower, effectively supporting global aviation's objectives regarding efficiency and safety.