Most advanced digital voice over IP in Dubai

13 October 2021

• Dubai International Airport, the largest in the world in terms of international passengers, and Al Maktoum International Airport, which aims to have the greatest capacity worldwide, will have a completely digital voice IP communication system provided by Indra

• Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) has awarded Indra this three-year project to strengthen the reliability of controller-pilot voice communications

Dubai International Airport, the largest in the world in terms of international passengers, and Al Maktoum International Airport, which has set the goal to become one of the largest worldwide, will feature Indra’s Garex 300, a completely digital voice IP communication system with the most advanced technology, representing a great leap in terms of security.

For nearly 15 years, Dubai's international airports have been using Indra’s Garex 220 VCCS system to provide them with secure, reliable and efficient communications. Since its initial installation, the system has been reconfigured, relocated, adapted and expanded to adapt to the pace of development at these airports. 

Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) has now decided to upgrade the system, switching to the Garex 230, a solution that allows the latest in Voice over IP technology to coexist with the current equipment, with the eventual goal of implementing a smooth migration to the fully Voice IP-based Garex 300 VCCS system.

This exclusive model for progressive implementations from the Garex 220 system via Garex 230 to Garex 300 not only allows DAEP to leverage on current infrastructure investments, but also ensures a low-risk implementation, simplifying the transition between the systems, without affecting airport operations.

This gradual approach ensures there is reliable communication between air traffic control and pilots throughout the three-year transition, ensuring that security remains a priority at all times. Once the project has been completed, Dubai will have one of the world’s most advanced voice communication control systems: the Voice over IP-based Garex 300.

This system is the latest development in Indra’s long line of voice communication control systems. It brings together six decades of experience in providing reliable, efficient and, above all, secure ground-to-air communication. Voice over IP technology turns each component of the system into an independent network node, operating autonomously, offering maximum flexibility in network configuration and enabling immediate integration and interoperability with other solutions, as well as far superior performance and reliability compared to other systems.

Indra is one of the world’s leading suppliers of air traffic management systems. Europe’s top air navigation authority, EUROCONTROL, has just entrusted Indra the complete digitalization of the entire continent’s air navigation network, the socalled Network Manager (NM). Indra is introducing the use of next-generation automation systems and artificial intelligence, virtualization and cloud computing technologies that improve the security, efficiency and sustainability of air traffic. Its Indra Air Solutions portfolio, based on proprietary technology, is one of the most comprehensive packages in existence and one of the few that cover the complete management of a flight throughout all its phases. 

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Migrate from analog voice communications to digital voice over IP

Indra in collaboration with ENAIRE present the COMETA program, the project to migrate the entire communications infrastructure of the Spanish airspace to Voice over IP technology, to improve the efficiency, safety and scalability of air traffic control operations in the national territory. 

Voice systems are one of the most critical elements for air traffic control, so their technological migration represents a challenge of the highest technological and operational complexity. 

This is the success story of the transformation of Spain's communications systems to state-of-the-art voice over IP technology with no impact on operations: COMETA program.

Click on "Watch video" to watch the full documentary about the COMETA program

Full IP communications suite

Creating a more flexible and resilient air traffic management worldwide

Interoperability

Immediate communications between controllers, and resource sharing across borders.

•   20-60% greater interconnection and interoperability in IP

•   50% of time and effort reduction when responding to contingency situations

Digitalization

Digital infrastructures and extensive use of commercial components to enable future virtual communication services.

•   70% of equipment reduction against non-IP systems

•   80% of hardware homogenization with automation in IT systems

Simplification 

Easier transfer of flow and workload reduction while maintaining the highest levels of air traffic control safety.

•    40% of reduction in system-specific spare parts

•    30% of optimization in maintenance activities

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GAREX 300

Deployed in control centers ACC and APP, ATC towers, simulators and backup/emergency.

Interoperability. Immediate communications between controllers and resource sharing across borders.

Digitalization. Digital infrastructures and extensive use of commercial components to enable future virtual communications services.

Simplification. Easier transfer of flow and workload reduction while maintaining the highest levels of air traffic control safety.

Pure IP distributed compliant with the standardization of the use of voice over IP in ATM, which is built on tried and tested GAREX features in the market for over 50 years.

Benefits of a full-IP voice switch

We use standard protocols instead of proprietary protocols, which brings you many advantages:

•   Scalable IP connections instead of dedicated lines and proprietary wiring.

•   Simple deployments thanks to the integration within your IP infrastructures.

•   Stable and low operating costs with commercial off-the-shelf equipment instead of special proprietary equipment.

•   Flexibility, robustness and obsolescence management, since the software is decoupled from the hardware.

•   Common and reduced depot of spares that could be shared with the ATM system and the IT department instead of specific and multiple spare parts.

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What is IP voice?

Voice communications are essential to the safety and efficiency of our airspace. However, voice technology and switching systems designed in the last century need to be upgraded to the future.

The new IP architecture

An integrated voice service with the ATM data networks is key to increase network capacity and flexibility without compromising safety. It enables:

• Unlimited and seamless scalability of the systems without necessity of wiring.

• Interoperability between current stakeholders involved in the voice service, enabling future developments.

• High availability and resilience, which facilitates the response in contingency scenarios.

Becoming the sole transmission means:

• Larger network capacity.

• Every system connected to each other via IP network.

• Multiple control centers can function as a backup if one fails.

Full IP vs others

End-to-end VoIP natively at the controller position, others need to use converters to Voice Internet Protocol, resulting in worse voice quality, bigger delays in communications and decreased availability of the service.

Routing capable in all components, others need to rely the routing capability in centralized components, which are single points of failure and lower significantly the reliability of the system.

Highly resilient when integrated into WAN networks, others need to operate in Local Area Networks (LAN), which do not have a direct integration in larger and complex deployments, impacting quality or latency.

Simple and flexible due to a pure-IP VCS based on decoupling of software and hardware, others provide proprietary equipment resulting in vendor lock-in, which means switching suppliers is highly costly and complex for the customer.

Resource-sharing enables cloud and virtual-center solutions, others offer centralized and proprietary platforms that cannot be used in the future deployments.

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COMETA®

Cometa® Full-IP VCS has been in operation in the Canary Islands since 2014 and in Valencia since 2019. Three other centers are currently in a migration phase.

It integrates the powerful facility called dynamic airspace resectorization. Resources can be merged into one or more consoles to adapt to changing operational traffic load.

It manages the analog and digital signal along with the new VoIP connections. It is therefore able to be integrated into the existing legacy communications infrastructure, facilitating seamless migration towards IP.

Additionally, it provides maximum operational flexibility with a tried and tested dual architecture.

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Neptuno

Neptuno is Indra's recording solution for air traffic management. It records with total availability and accurately reproduces communications from control centers and operators' consoles.

The Neptuno family of recorders enables multichannel signal capture in analog and digital format and in phone or higher bandwidth.

Its client/server architecture allows multi-user exploitation and unattended operation. The recorders have their own user interface, providing local and remote control of the equipment.

It has successfully proven its high availability in more than 400 sites on five continents where it has been installed.

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