Nokia announced on Wednesday that the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has deployed its IP and MPLS networking products as part an upgrade from legacy services to a next-gen network. The high-bandwidth IP/MPLS network, which went live last year, increased IAA's capacity to help ensure the operation of new, more demanding air traffic control (ATC) applications.
The network also provides support for legacy, non-IP applications, including end-to-end communications between radar stations. The IAA also used Nokia’s professional services team for network design, architecture, integration and deployment. The contract with IAA also included Nokia taking part in the integration and testing of the network. Going forward, Nokia will continue to provide IAA with long-term support and maintenance services.
Nokia and IAA have conducted a number of live trials across multiple airspace sectors in the key North Atlantic region, delivering critical voice and radar services to controllers over the new Nokia IP/MPLS platform.
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The deployment of the new network preceded the expected doubling of global air traffic by 2030, according to Nokia. The North Atlantic airspace is one of the most crowded airspaces in the world, and the IAA will need more capacity as traffic grows.
“Given our responsibility to ensure the smooth operation of the North Atlantic airspace, it has been crucial that Nokia earn our trust," said the IAA's Billy Hann, director of ATM operations and strategy, in a statement. "The quality and reliability of its technology and the thoroughness and collaborative approach of its teams has been first class throughout the entire migration process. We are very pleased and confident in the performance of the new network.”