A study of future communications concepts and technologies for the national airspace system (the first six months)

Preliminary findings indicate that spectrum and technology certification will continue to pose a challenge, especially in areas where software is increasingly used to perform hardware functions. It is anticipated that although some spectrum will become available as a result of the decommissioning of technologies i.e. VOR, the demand for spectrum will increase and future technologies will need to provide the ability to maximize the use of finite spectrum resources. Advances in electronics and communications technology will enable the integration of services and applications and thus reduce the number of systems deployed to the aircraft. Finally, the future aviation radio technology will depend on numerous factors including: air traffic management procedures, airline operations business models and the configuration of the airspace, which is anticipated to include Unmanned Aircraft Systems, hypersonic flights and manned aircraft.