SITTI VCS upgrade for DTCEA Brazil

In response to the increasing air traffic in the Brazilian skies and the related complexity of operations, the Brazilian air force (FAB – Forza Aerea Brasileira) decided to undergo a significant plan for upgrading the existing VCS (Voice Communication Systems) infrastructure already deployed nationwide. The upgrade is aiming at getting the many advantages of the VoIP architecture and protocol. The conversion to IP is the main objective that is being focused with this project. Other projects in the same direction have been completed in recent years, while the current one directly involves the DTCEA (Destacamentos de Controle do Espaço Aéreo) areas of San Paolo, Rio de Janeiro (Galeao) and Confins.

A large number of BSS (Best Signal Selection) modules are going to be installed for the management of a varying number of remote sites (from 2 to 7), to allow air traffic controllers to receive the best audio from remote radio stations nominally set to the same frequency. When considering the total amount of connections (main + emergency systems) that will be interfaced by the VCSs, one may understand the complexity and wideness of the requirements set to SITTI systems:

• 100 Best Signal Selection (BSS) frequency groups
• 200 Controller Working Positions (CWP)
• 360 SIP telephone connections
• 560 Analogue telephone lines
• 500 Analogue-IP gateway boards

These impressive figures do not represent a problem for SITTI MULTIFONO® systems, because of their intrinsic capability of managing a very large number of concurrent communications, since they are natively ready to accommodate expansions and integrations without affecting ongoing operations. Air traffic controllers can access all communication devices (radio and telephone) that are configured on their touchscreen panels, by taking full advantage of the sophisticated algorithms implemented in the system to provide them with the easiest and most effective Human-Machine Interface for safely coping with all the tasks they are responsible for.

Once the VCS systems will have been upgraded according to the requirements set by the customer, the existing VCS systems will benefit from all the positive aspects introduced by the IP technology to better respond to the constantly changing and challenging operational needs. The wide experience of SITTI in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) field is put at disposal of the customer through top-edge systems, in compliance with international standards. The upgrade of the VCSs will be carried out in different phases, and it is expected to be completed in 2 year time.