ARINC Continues Rollout of VDL Mode 2 Services for the Busy Airspaces of Asia

Singapore—ARINC Incorporated today announced it has deployed high-capacity GLOBALink^SM VDL Mode2 data link communications at Incheon International Airport—Korea’s largest airport and one of the world’s busiest. The new VDL Mode 2 ground station at Incheon started service on April 9.

Incheon is only the most recent VDL deployment for ARINC in Asia. The company has been deploying VDL Mode 2 network infrastructure in cooperation with civil aviation authorities in Asia since 2007. ARINC and its partners now maintain VDL Mode 2 networks in Korea, Singapore, China (including Hong Kong and Beijing) and Thailand.

VDL Mode 2 technology offers ten times the aeronautical message capacity of ARINC’s world standard VHF ACARS^® data link communications. VDL communications is already a necessity in some of the world’s most crowded airspaces, including northern Europe and the U.S. East Coast.

“ARINC is already supporting VDL users in Northern Europe and the U.S., and we are determined to stay ahead of the requirements of our Asian airline customers as well,” said Randy Pizzi, Vice President and Managing Director of ARINC’s Asia Pacific Division. “ARINC is leading the way by providing sufficient capacity for tomorrow’s evolving VDL services—better information for the cockpit, and better operation for the airlines.”  

Almost all new passenger aircraft today are delivered with VDL avionics as standard equipment. This includes recent fleet expansions with the popular B737 and Airbus A380 aircraft. Because the technology is on board, airlines are quickly adopting new data applications such as engine health monitoring to take advantage of the greater bandwidth of VDL Mode 2 for improved maintenance, navigation, and communications.

“The growing demand for air travel in Asia, coupled with new fleets having VDL communications will soon make VDL service a necessity,” added Pizzi. “We have been working in close partnership with China’s Aviation Data Communications Corporation (ADCC) and Thailand’s air traffic service provider AEROTHAI for a number of years to upgrade the overall data link infrastructure in the region with VDL Mode 2 service. We would like to thank them for their encouragement and support.”

ARINC’s VHF digital link (VDL) Mode 2 technology delivers information at 31.5 kbps – over 10 times the rate of older ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting Systems) technology.

As more airlines adopt VDL Mode 2 and activate the capability in their aircraft, ARINC believes more civil aviation authorities in Asia will seriously consider the use of VDL technology as a medium for controller-pilot data link communications (CPDLC), which has already been adopted in Northern Europe.

ARINC Incorporated, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, provides communications, engineering and integration solutions for commercial, defense and government customers worldwide. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland with regional headquarters in London and Singapore, ARINC is ISO 9001:2008 certified. 

Release: 09-053

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