A new chapter in communications

The common communications backbone for European air traffic management (ATM) moved a step closer in October 2009 with the launch of the Pan-European Network Service (PENS) project.

PENS addresses important requirements for Eurocontrol and the air navigation service providers (ANSPs) of its member states. ANSPs traditionally dependent on legacy and/or analogue communication protocols for their international communications are faced with the need to replace these with Internet Protocol (IP).

The PENS joint initiative – with SITA as the Network Service Provider – aims to provide a comprehensive IP-based communications system. This not only supports existing services – including the Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) and the European AIS Database (EAD) – but also those under development for the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) programme.

PENS is designed to meet existing requirements for data exchange; evaluate legacy ATC voice and ATC Voice over IP (VoIP) performance; and act as a base layer on which System Wide Information Management (SWIM) applications and other future SESAR applications can be laid.

At the time of writing, 22 ANSPs are involved at some level with PENS (see panel). The CFMU and EAD are also among the initial users of the service.