[omilu]

>>>They could be having video calls with the controller with crystal clear audio from anywhere on this planet instead of yelling to them over VHF only when they are in range.

Your forgetting about latency, which matters when you are trying to land an airplane. Also who cares if you could talk to the aircraft from anywhere in the world with different technology? The only thing that matters is there is a low latency audio connection between the traffic controller and all the planes coming in. Direct line of site VHF communications is better in every conceivable metric then any alternative. It has nothing to do with old technology or design by committee.