R&S VCS-4G voice communications system (VCS)
The flexible architecture of the R&S VCS-4G voice communications system (VCS) is playing a pivotal role in the phased conversion to state-of-the-art VoIP technology.
ROMATSA, the Romanian air navigation service provider, has replaced the voice communications systems at eight control towers with core Voice over IP (VoIP) technology provided by Rohde & Schwarz. It is built on state-of-the-art VoIP technology and offers the tower’s air traffic services (ATS) unit an exceptionally flexible architecture that will play a critical role in making the Romanian ANSP installations cost effective and ready for future growth.
Installation began in May 2016 and Site Acceptance Tests (SAT) were successfully concluded for all eight sites by August 2016. The transition from analog communications technologies to VoIP will make air traffic control in the Romanian airspace more secure, reliable and efficient. The R&S VCS-4G connects air traffic controller working position located in control towers with VoIP compatible radio systems and other ATS units.
The eight airports serve the metropolitan areas of Cluj, Timisoara, Tg.Mures, Sibiu, Baia Mare, Satu Mare, Iasi and Suceava. Each tower is equipped with one R&S VCS-4G voice communications system that supports four or five controller work positions (CWP) depending on the airport. The project includes a total of 34 CWPs. This is one of several VCS systems that Rohde & Schwarz has provided for ROMATSA. Rohde & Schwarz has delivered a total of more than 120 CWPs for the Romanian ANSP over the past few years.
The flexible architecture of the R&S VCS-4G allows the mixing of legacy analog technology radios with recently acquired VoIP radios. Modern R&S Series4200 software defined radios are already in use at the eight Control Towers. R&S VCS-4G conforms to the EUROCAE ED-137 standard for VoIP-based air traffic management applications. Voice and data transmission can be integrated into a single infrastructure to reduce costs.
