Statement of PASS National President on Data Comm

PASS National President Mike Perrone released the following statement at a press conference today discussing the benefits of Data Comm and the efforts of FAA employees represented by PASS.

"As president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, I’m happy to be here today along with Administrator Huerta to recognize the value and benefit of Data Comm. To reiterate some of what the administrator said, Data Comm is an important step in the transition from the current analog voice system to a digital communication system. It is an essential element of NextGen and plays a major role in the modernization of our airspace.

"As representative of thousands of federal FAA employees, I want to recognize the important work and contributions of FAA systems specialists. The success of Data Comm, along with other transformational programs, is the result of a commitment to collaborate in order to ensure successful modernization of the system. The work of FAA employees represented by PASS is helping to shape the future of NextGen.

"Through Data Comm, communication systems are modified with new hardware and software to help deliver the new controller-pilot data link communications service at towers across the nation. FAA systems specialists will be maintaining, monitoring and certifying the new hardware and software capabilities. These federal employees will be providing system and service restoration coordination and monitoring. FAA systems specialists are the only group capable of performing this critical work necessary to modernize the aviation system and prepare for the future of NextGen.

"The PASS workforce is truly a team player in the development of Data Comm. PASS has been an active stakeholder in all phases of system development and implementation and we continue to work in cooperation with the Program Office. Together with the FAA, we are creating a safer and more efficient National Airspace System that will benefit users and stakeholders for years to come."

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