Air Traffic Solutions
Communication Systems ICS 200/60
We offer the most enhanced integrated voice communication system for civil, military and other applications.
Performance
The ICS 200/60 voice communication system has been installed for air traffic control, airport ground services and coast guard applications at several hundred sites all over the world. Since the installation of the first generation the platform was steadily updated.
The customer has today the choice to run the proven ICS 200/60 software either on specific Schmid Telecom Zurich hardware or pure IP based COTS equipment. Both solutions are fully compliant to EUROCONTROL, EUROCAE VoIP ED-137 and the respective standards of ICAO.
At the same time different generations of hardware within the same operational ICS 200/60 system can be mixed, enabling all customers that are operating ICS 200/60 systems to smoothly upgrade their systems to become fully compatible with the latest standards in the most economical way, without interfering with the on-going operation. The system is hence fully backward compatible to enable easy lifetime management to all customers.
Scalability
The ICS 200/60 has the unique advantages that all customers are running the same global valid software releases what eases maintenance. The communication server subsystems (usually in a redundant configuration) as the link between the interface bus and the ring of the operator positions. The server subsystems work in an “Enhanced Parallel Processing Mode”, where a “Master” server controls and makes the decisions for all connections. The other server working as a slave to the master server prepares all connections in parallel to the “Master”.
All components support distributed installation based. Communication server systems can even be distributed over several rooms or buildings.
Access to remote radio sites can either be done via secured leased lines or highly reliable, redundant networks using ED-137 for radio access.
The architecture supports servers of different performance classes and allows for the distribution of tasks to several servers, enabling scalable voice processing power from the smallest tower systems up to the largest centres.
Reliability
Seamless networking and remote access enables a perfect platform for reliable voice communication for temporary remote tower operation.
The system can start and stop without a management system. However a management system is needed to monitor, control and configure the system. Fully redundant, delay-less network of operator positions and all kinds of analogue and digital radio and telephone network access interfaces. Optimised communication within the system prevents interference between the neighbour’s loudspeakers and the controller’s own voice. To guarantee a reliable radio communication including retransmission, a maximum delay on radio transmission of less than 20ms is guaranteed.
All hardware modules are hot swappable; they can be exchanged in the running system with no influence on other devices. The replaced interfaces automatically fetch the required firmware and configuration from the communication server. There are no jumpers, and no manual adjustment is needed.
Fast reconfiguration (e.g. due to major changes in air traffic) is achieved on the running system by distributed storage of pre-defined operator position set-ups.