Spreading our wings!

One of the things that is clear from this issue is that Helios continues to expand geographically. A number of people have recently returned from overseas. New team member Richard Womersley has completed a spectrum strategy project in Malaysia. His colleague Andrew Ives has been in Nepal; you can read about that particular project inside this issue. Our trainers have been in Jeddah, delivering a range of courses in CNS/ATM technologies for GACA, the Saudi Arabian CAA, and our Surveillance team are just back from South Africa. A large group of us continues to work on European initiatives such as SESAR, the Single European Sky, Functional Airspace Blocks, as well as projects for several Air Navigation Service Providers. We will report on some of these projects in the next issue. In the meantime, enjoy reading this edition and have a good summer!

CONTENTS
SPOTLIGHT ON SPECTRUM

The pressure is on...

SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGIES

Why everyones looking at WAM

MODERNISING SURVEILLANCE IN NEPAL

ADS-B, WAM or both?

ATM MODERNISATION

A performance based future

HOT AIR!

Our news section

OFF AIR!

PS. don't forget our reader survey competition. Check www.askhelios.com for all the details.
Mike Shorthose, Managing Director

Puzzle competition

Spotlight on spectrum
SUMMER 2008

The pressure is on
R
adio spectrum is in great demand. Everything from wireless doorbells to mobile television networks are use or user. Traditional technical spectrum management techniques are finding themselves unable to keep up with the ever-changing wireless landscape, and regulators are increasingly using market-based techniques such as:

vying to gain access to its limited resource. Although technology is enabling greater access to the spectrum, there are limits to what can be achieved and these limits are rapidly approaching. Frequencies between 300 and 3000 MHz are generally regarded as a spectrum sweetspot. These frequencies have the right combination of bandwidth and propagation characteristics to provide

Spectrum Pricing where licence fees are varied to encourage efficient user behaviour Auctions and Beauty Parades where users themselves compete for access to the spectrum, removing the need for sluggish regulatory decision making Spectrum Trading which permits users to swap, sell and lease spectrum. Whilst aeronautical users have long regarded

the most technically and economically efficient delivery of services such as broadband wireless, cellular communications and mobile broadcasting and pressure on this frequency range is greater than elsewhere.

Around 20% of all spectrum, including that within the sweet-spot, is allocated primarily to aeronautical use. Operators and regulators across Europe (including the European Commission) are eyeing this spectrum to determine whether aeronautical users are being as efficient as their commercial counterparts. If not, they will consider moves to re-allocate it to a more efficient

themselves as beyond the remit of such techniques, a 2007 report for UK spectrum regulator Ofcom, suggested that UK users of the 118-137 MHz VHF communications band should collectively be paying

News and Information from Helios

News and Information from Helios

spectrum pricing fees of 11.6 million per year. Other bands including L-Band, and S-Band were also singled out as high priorities for the introduction of spectrum pricing due to high demand from own and/or alternative use. With the Commission also considering aeronautical (and other public service) spectrum use, the sanctity of special protection for aeronautical users could soon be broken. Helios has joined forces with specialist spectrum publisher PolicyTracker to develop a 5-day, residential training course from 29 September to 3 October 2008 entitled Understanding Modern Spectrum Management. The course features a number of leading European spectrum experts. For further information and to obtain a special Helios client discount on attendance, contact richard.womersley@askhelios.com.
Richard Womersley Richard recently joined Helios with over 15 years experience in spectrum management. He has advised regulators, operators, governments and end users across Europe, the Middle East and Asia on spectrum licensing, pricing, planning, policing, policy and efficiency. With growing pressure to use spectrum effectively in the aeronautical industry, the time is right to bring greater focus to these issues. As well as being deeply involved in delivering consultancy projects across the world, Richard will be presenting part of the Understanding Modern Spectrum Management training course.

Surveillance technologies
Why everyones looking at WAM

ide Area Multilateration (WAM) is a relatively new surveillance technique that differs from traditional

How WAM works

WAM works by triangulating the Mode A/C, Mode S or ADS-B transmissions of an aircrafts transponder which are time-stamped upon detection at multiple receiver sites. Comparing the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) at the different receivers allows the targets position to be calculated by a central processor. It may then be fused with surveillance data from other sources before being correlated with the relevant flight plan to produce surveillance reports.

techniques, such as Primary and Secondary Surveillance Radar. Its advantages include: Suitability for remote or inaccessible areas. For example Austro Control has purchased a WAM system to provide gap filling coverage on the approach to Innsbruck Airport. This area is surrounded by mountains and is therefore unsuitable to single site radar surveillance (as its interrogations would be shielded by the terrain).

central processor must have high security, integrity and availability.

WAM receivers use static antennas which have much lower maintenance and procurement costs than rotating radar heads and are robust to interference from wind farms. As WAM works on the same RF signal as ADS-B, it can be upgraded to ADS-B once equipage levels allow. The increasing popularity of WAM-based surveillance

The remote nature of the sensor sites can introduce challenges in assuring their continued security and supply of power. Some operators have attempted to overcome these issues by using, for example, solar panels to power the sensors. The processes for achieving operational approval need

across Europe in support of military and civil applications is testament to these benefits. But if the decision to implement a WAM system is agreed upon, what steps need to be taken before the system goes operational? To answer these questions a technical knowledge of the system together with an understanding of its business and safety cases is needed. Particular challenges that will need to be balanced against the above benefits will include:

to reflect the strengths and weaknesses of WAM and therefore differ to those used for traditional surveillance techniques. Helios, on behalf of EUROCONTROL, is currently developing best practice guidelines for operational approval of WAM systems. The decision to procure a WAM system depends upon multiple site-specific trade-offs. Nevertheless WAM potentially offers a technical solution for enhancing or providing stand-alone, cost-effective surveillance in situations where radar coverage is shielded or the infrastructure for a radar system cannot be accommodated. For more information about Helios work on procurement, approvals and WAM-based surveillance systems contact ben.stanley@askhelios.com.

Accuracy is dependent upon the geometry of available sensor sites. For example Helios, in partnership with Austro Control, has been contracted by the South African ANSP to conduct a study into how sensor site availability and other trade-offs will affect a new WAM system in Cape Town. The communication links between the sensors and the

News and Information from Helios

Modernising surveillance in Nepal

ADS-B, WAM or both?

Conference papers published: Improving environmental performance describes the impact that future air traffic scenarios could have on the environment in and around airports and how ATM techniques can be used to minimise this. Presented by Alex Goman at the International Conference on Research in Air Transport (www.icrat.org), this paper builds on Helios involvement in the Environmentally Friendly Airport ATM System (EFAS) project. Our Navigation team attended this years major European Navigation Conference in Toulouse. Steve Leighton presented on the use of EGNOS for approaches to North Sea oil platforms (more on this subject in a future ON AIR!). As well as presenting to the conference, Helios consultants authored or co-authored four technical papers on subjects ranging from maritime navigation to accurate timing for the Galileo validation activities. Copies of both Alex's and Steve's papers can be found at www.askhelios.com. Hot topics in ATM: Helios is running training courses on a number of high profile subjects in the coming months.

elios has recently supported the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) in analysing how the

current surveillance environment could be improved with the help of either ADS-B or WAM or both. Nepal currently has a single primary and secondary radar site at Kathmandu, which provides coverage in the local terminal area. However the radar is affected by obstructions and high mountainous terrain and therefore coverage does not extend far beyond the terminal area boundary. Helios performed a detailed on-site inventory of the current ATM system and proposed a number of options for future surveillance provision, taking into account the desire of CAAN to provide improved surveillance for current air routes and to open up new international ones. ADS-B appeared to offer benefits in lower equipment and maintenance costs compared to radar, and to be a solution to provide surveillance over a wide region in difficult terrain. However two factors needed to be examined: 1. ADS-B needs a system of verification to ensure that every aircrafts ADS-B transmissions are accurate. An independent surveillance source was required as part of the transmission monitoring, which could be either a secondary radar or a WAM system. 2. While ADS-B equipage rates are significant and growing in Europe and on many major routes internationally, regional equipage levels can often be very low. WAM can complement ADS-B in that it can provide surveillance for all aircraft that have a radar transponder, whether they are equipped for ADS-B or not. Says Helios consultant Andrew Ives: WAM in Kathmandu combined with ADS-B deployed across the country appears to have solid potential to provide improvements to the current surveillance picture in the terminal area while ADS-B equipage levels remain low, and yet it provides a system that can support the necessary validation of ADS-B outputs as more and more aircraft equip. For more information about this project contact andrew.ives@askhelios.com.

September 9-11: AMHS (ATS Message Handling Systems) October 6-10: Navigation Technologies & Techniques, including our popular one-day overview course on CNS Technologies and a new 2-day course on Performance Based Navigation.

October 7: The Single European Sky & SESAR Explained - a new one-day course packed with insider information on this hot topic in ATM!

October 8: Air Transport Liberalisation: Impacts & Implications - providing an overview of key changes that are happening at the institutional and regulatory level.

To register and for more information on all these events email training@askhelios.com. Book before 30 June and save e100! More interest in air navigation charging policy: Last year Helios set up a club that allowed ANSPs to share information on how they allocated their costs between en-route and terminal services for charging purposes, and other issues relating to the implementation of the SES Charging Regulation. The product of the work was a report (for participants only) on the variety of practices, and comments on what best practice might be. We also provided help to participating ANSPs on the consequences of different options within the range of permitted practices, and their impact on airlines in the countries concerned. The eight ANSPs in the club have now grown to ten, with LPS (Slovakia) and Croatia Control. LPS wanted us to review their new policies on cost allocation, and their impact on users. Croatia Control is at the early stages of implementing terminal charges, and wanted some help in determining how costs should be allocated.

News and Information from Helios

ATM modernisation
A performance based future T
he final act of the SESAR definition phase was played out to packed crowds at the SESAR Master Event in Rome in May. With this important milestone complete it is worth considering where SESAR is going: SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research), the European air traffic control infrastructure modernisation programme, consists of three phases:

is provided in accordance with the performance requirements of the users. This approach echoes ICAOs performance based ATM initiative and will lead to a more responsive ATM system. However, to many observers it appears that completion of the definition phase signals the beginning of the real work. For example, ATM requires constant modernisation to ensure that cost-effective and safe capacity can be delivered as demand rises. The ICB is therefore considering both how existing implementation arrangements can be strengthened to ensure the success of the early phases of the ATM master plan as well as providing advice to the European Commission on how institutional arrangements should evolve to create the sense of partnership required to ensure the full implementation of SESAR. For more information about SESAR contact paul.ravenhill@askhelios.com.

The now complete definition phase (e60 million of public funds) designed to create an initial ATM master plan. At Helios we have been involved in many aspects of the SESAR definition phase, helping several SESAR consortium partners with their contributions to the definition phase, for example supporting LFV with a review of on-going research and development activities. A e2.1 Bn development phase run as a publicprivate-partnership by the recently created SESAR Joint Undertaking. During the development phase, the ATM master plan will be updated on the basis of the R&D work conducted. Finally, during the deployment phase an estimated e40 Bn will be required to implement the master plan.

Meeting fatigue
1 10

? 22 ?

An exasperated

14

chairman was asked how many people attended his last working group

64

meeting. In reply he said, Well! If I divide the people into two unequal numbers, then 32 times the difference between the two numbers equals the difference between the squares of the two
Deployment Phase e20Bn to e50Bn

numbers. Can you work out how many people attended his last working group meeting? Please provide a brief explanation with your answer. The answer will be published in the next edition of ON AIR!. Please send your solutions to zoe.buswell@askhelios.com. All entries must be received by

Definition Phase e60M

2006 2008

Development Phase e2.1Bn

2013 2025

15 September 2008. As usual, we will award a bottle of champagne to the first correct answer drawn at random after this date. Good luck to everyone!

SESAR is an important step for the ATM industry and has dominated Helios technical support to the Industry Consultation Body (ICB). The SESAR definition phase has been conducted as a partnership between representatives of all air transport stakeholders. The industry has come together to deliver a vision of the future where ATM service
Helios is an independent technical and management consultancy focusing on the air transport sector. We help our customers solve problems and implement technical and operational solutions that will improve corporate performance. Our team has a range of expertise covering research, planning, simulations, feasibility studies, cost benefit analysis, procurement support and safety studies. Our knowledge covers all of the technologies that support air traffic management, as well as satellite navigation and advanced communication systems.

And the winner is The correct answer to the conundrum in the Winter/Spring edition of ON AIR! was 1.125mph. For a full explanation to the puzzle please visit www.askhelios.com. Congratulations to Daniel Storey of CAA who wins the champagne.
For further information, contact Mike Shorthose by email: mike.shorthose@askhelios.com, telephone: +44 1252 451 651 or visit our website www.askhelios.com. This newsletter has been written for the interest of our clients and colleagues. We believe the facts are correct at the time of printing, but cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Please send change-of-address details to info@askhelios.com. Helios, 29 Hercules Way, Aerospace Boulevard, AeroPark, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 6UU, UK.