CERTIUM VCS for 36 Additional Airports

The Rohde & Schwarz CERTIUM voice communications system (VCS) air traffic control (ATC) communications system is to be installed at 36 airports in Colombia, the company announced on 7 June. The contract complements over 1000 CERTIUM ATC radios already installed in over 80 airports nationwide. It was signed last December, with all systems to be delivered by the end of this year.

The systems consist of compact IP-based VCS equipment and certified training, management and maintenance software. CERTIUM VCS will be deployed in six main clusters, with each cluster covering several airports in a region. Centralised monitoring and management is provided at each regional headquarters, via an Aerocivil wide area network. Uninterrupted power supplies at each airport provide additional redundancy for each controller working position.

“We have a long-lasting, successful relationship with our Colombian administration. This allows us to support Aerocivil’s digitalisation 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,” explains Mauricio Samudio, General Manager, Rohde & Schwarz Colombia S.A.S.

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 programmes in 60+ countries, most of which are currently deployed and operational, including airports, area control centres, virtual centres, remote towers, offshore drilling sites, mobile towers and shelters.