New ATC System To Rely On AT&T Cell Towers

longacre writes "The FAA has awarded the long-anticipated first contract for development of its NextGen air traffic control system: a $1.8 billion deal with ITT Corporation, beating out bids from aerospace heavyweights such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. ITT's design will make use of hundreds of specially modified AT&T cellular phone towers which, in addition to their normal communications duties, will relay an aircraft's position to air traffic controllers and other aircraft in real time. The initial contract is only enough to wire and test the so-called ADS-B system in the Philadelphia area and around the Gulf of Mexico — hooking up the rest of the country will take an estimated 20 years and $20 billion."

Comments

Amazing, isn't it

[Crypto Gnome]

After literally years telling us we can't use cellphones on airplanes because:

• rf interferes with the avionics
• the cellphone basically spams all cell-towers

They're now going to implement a system which enables every airplaine over the continental US of A to use rf to cell-towers for the sake of better tracking.

Someone please clearly explain how they've not just flat out admitted lying to everyone since the dawn of time.