GL Communications Fortifies Air Traffic Safety with Advanced VoIP Testing

GAITHERSBURG, Md. – December 17, 2025 – In a significant move to bolster the safety and reliability of global aviation, GL Communications Inc. has advanced its suite of testing solutions for Air Traffic Management (ATM). The new systems are engineered to validate the next generation of voice communication networks, ensuring they comply with stringent international standards as the industry undergoes a critical transition from legacy analog systems to modern Voice over IP (VoIP) technology.

This modernization is not merely a technological upgrade; it is a fundamental shift in the infrastructure that underpins air traffic safety. For decades, the clear, instantaneous voice link between air traffic controllers and pilots has been the bedrock of safe skies. As this vital link digitizes, the need for exhaustive testing to guarantee interoperability, performance, and unwavering reliability has become more critical than ever.

The New Mandate for Aviation Communication

At the heart of this transition are the EUROCAE ED-137 and ED-138 standards, a set of internationally recognized specifications that define the rules for VoIP in ATM environments. Developed by the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) and recognized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), these standards ensure that communication equipment from different manufacturers can work together seamlessly. This interoperability is crucial in a complex, multi-vendor ecosystem that includes Controller Working Positions (CWP), Ground Radio Stations (GRS), Voice Communication Systems (VCS), and Recorders.

ED-137 governs the specifics of VoIP communication, covering air-ground radio, ground-ground telephony, and recording protocols. ED-138 complements this by defining the performance and network requirements for the underlying IP infrastructure, addressing critical factors like latency, jitter, and packet loss that can degrade or disrupt safety-critical voice communications. The global adoption of these standards, driven by modernization initiatives like Europe's Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) VoICE program, has created an urgent market need for robust validation and verification tools.

GL Communications' portfolio directly addresses this need. The company’s solutions are aligned with the latest revisions of the standards, including ED-137B and ED-137C, and have been independently verified using the official EUROCAE VOTER tool. This validation provides Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) and equipment manufacturers with high confidence that their systems meet the required levels of compliance and interoperability, mitigating risks in multi-vendor deployments.

Enabling the Digital Transformation of the Skies

The shift to VoIP is a cornerstone of the broader digital transformation sweeping through air traffic management. As ANSPs modernize their infrastructure to improve efficiency and capacity, they face the dual challenge of integrating new IP-based systems while ensuring a seamless and secure transition. A key part of this evolution is the migration from the nearly exhausted IPv4 address space to IPv6, a move essential for future-proofing critical networks.

GL Communications’ solutions are designed to de-risk this complex migration. The entire testing suite offers full support for IPv6, allowing engineers to emulate and analyze network behavior in pure IPv6 or dual-stack environments. This capability is vital for validating how new communication systems will perform on future network architectures, ensuring long-term compatibility and security.

“Reliable and interoperable voice communication is a critical foundation for safe and efficient air traffic operations,” said Vijay Kulkarni, CEO of GL Communications. “By combining standards-aligned testing, real-time monitoring, and precise timing measurements, GL provides ATM stakeholders with a comprehensive solution to validate and maintain voice communication systems throughout their lifecycle.”

This comprehensive approach allows ANSPs to not only verify compliance but also to simulate real-world network impairments like delay, jitter, and packet loss. By stress-testing systems under adverse conditions before deployment, they can identify and resolve potential issues that could compromise safety in a live operational environment.

A Precision Toolkit for a Zero-Failure Environment

To meet the diverse testing needs of the ATM industry, GL Communications offers a multi-faceted portfolio of specialized tools that work in concert to provide end-to-end validation.

At the core is the Message Automation & Protocol Simulation (MAPS™) platform. This powerful software can emulate every key interface within the ATM communication chain. MAPS™ ED-137 Radio can simulate hundreds of ground radio stations to test air-ground communications, including Push-To-Talk (PTT) functionality and emergency priority calls. MAPS™ ED-137 Telephone emulates ground-ground calls between controller positions, while MAPS™ ED-137 Recorder validates the systems responsible for legally mandated voice recording.

For real-time analysis and quality assurance, PacketScan™ provides deep-dive monitoring of live VoIP traffic. It captures and decodes SIP/RTP signaling and media streams, providing critical quality of service metrics like Mean Opinion Score (MOS), delay, and packet loss. This is complemented by NetSurveyorWeb™, a web-based surveillance platform that offers a centralized dashboard for monitoring large-scale networks, aggregating data from multiple probes to provide a holistic view of network health and trigger alarms for performance degradation.

Finally, the TM-ATM (Timing Measurements in Air Traffic Management) solution addresses one of the most critical aspects of aviation voice communication: timing. It precisely measures PTT and squelch delays, ensuring that the first and last words of a transmission are never clipped—a factor that can have significant safety implications. This tool can validate timing across legacy analog, TDM, and modern IP paths, providing a crucial bridge for organizations managing hybrid networks during their transition.

Building the Foundation for Next-Generation Airspace

The rigorous testing enabled by these solutions is not just about meeting today's standards; it is about building a resilient foundation for the future of air traffic communication. Emerging concepts like remote towers, where controllers manage multiple airports from a single centralized location, depend entirely on flawless, low-latency IP communication. The safe integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or drones, into controlled airspace will also introduce new communication paradigms that must be thoroughly validated.

As automation and artificial intelligence begin to play a larger role in ATM, the voice communication systems will need to interface seamlessly with these new technologies. The ability to emulate complex scenarios and analyze system performance under a wide range of conditions will be indispensable for certifying these advanced, next-generation systems. By providing the tools to ensure that the digital voice of the skies is clear, reliable, and secure, GL Communications is playing a vital role in enabling a safer and more efficient future for global aviation.