[bronco21016]

Radio frequency congestion is a major issue in throughput. One of the many issues at La Guardia in NYC is being able to even get a word in to let ATC know you’re ready to taxi. Aircraft are sitting on the ramp waiting to move and in turn aircraft that have landed are waiting to park because the outbound aircraft can’t get out of the way because they can’t get clearance to taxi. It’s a major pain.

Last week I witnessed first hand how enroute frequencies are jammed as well. Flying in and out of Atlanta as severe thunderstorms surrounded the arrival corridor aircraft were diverting everywhere. You could hardly get a word in in time to tell them you were diverting around the storms.

Hopefully CPDLC will alleviate some of this. Something certainly needs to change.

[Jeff_Brown]

Isn't radio an "old system" ripe for change? The cellular network accommodates millions of users in a space the size of Manhattan. Why do airplanes need to use a channel with such narrow throughput?

Also, voice uses far, far more bandwidth than text.

[p_l]

The simple system is reliable, has certain anti-locking behaviors, and doesn't depend on complex electronics while being obvious if jamming happens