Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 6, 1995 TAG: 9507060035
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bloomberg Business News
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Air-traffic controllers in Seattle have swapped their outdated communications gear for a new, high-tech system made by Harris Corp., the first stage in a nationwide upgrade.
The system, which also is in the final testing phase in Salt Lake City and Denver, lets a controller talk to pilots and colleagues by touching icons on a computer screen instead of fumbling with ranks of toggle switches on a console.
Controllers can handle more calls and get pilots on the line more quickly, Harris says. That's important because air traffic is expected to rise sharply over the next two decades, and controllers will need a lot of high-tech horsepower to keep up with it.
The communications systems are being installed first at the FAA's 20 en-route control centers around the U.S. mainland and another in Hawaii that handle aircraft at higher altitudes as they move between airports, according to Jeff Thal, an FAA spokesman. The FAA centers handling aircraft flying out of Roanoke are located in Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; and Indianapolis, depending on which direction a plane is headed.
Thal said controllers who handle arrivals and departures at airports will get the new communications system in 1997 when the FAA begins installing new controller work stations at airports including Roanoke. The system will be built into the new work stations.
The Federal Aviation Administration calls Harris's voice switching and control system a ``key element'' of its effort to improve the nation's air-traffic control system.
The digital equipment and fiberoptics in the Harris system ``virtually eliminate communications delays and allow pilots and controllers to communicate much more rapidly, clearly and accurately,'' the FAA said. The system also automatically routes pilot calls to the correct controller, reducing delays from mistaken connections. ``This new technology will enable the FAA to meet increasing demands of air traffic well into the 21st century,'' said FAA Administrator David Hinson. ``This is evidence that all our hard work in turning the...modernization effort around is beginning to show results.''
Harris will install 18 more systems in the next year and a half., in addition to the two already running in Seattle and Salt Lake City. These will replace the communications gear at the nation's 20 en-route centers, where controllers direct planes between airports.
Harris has been working on the FAA contract for seven years, and says it is worth about $1 billion. The contract's value could rise, though, if the FAA exercises options for system upgrades and maintenance. Harris is also setting its sights on the foreign market, submitting its voice system for consideration in China and Russia, among other places.
``We're looking to bid on any projects that come up,'' said company spokesman Jim Burke. -- Simon Walsh (202) 434-1825 ngm |(Story illustration: To graph Harris shares: HRS US Equity GP.|
Staff writer Greg Edwards contributed to this story.
by CNB