Aviation and Telecommunications in the Digital World
Telecommunications is an area which would impact aviation in light of digital advances taking place. Annex 10 (Aeronautical Telecommunications) to the Chicago Convention is directly in point and ICAO's relations with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) The ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in Annex 10 are developed in accordance with Article 37 of the Chicago Convention for the purpose of ensuring the safety and regularity of air navigation. In addition to the ITU Radio Regulations, the SARPs specify interface and performance standards for internationally agreed aeronautical systems which have been developed by aviation to meet the specific operational requirements of aeronautical services. ICAO is recognized internationally as the competent international body to carry out this work and to coordinate a worldwide policy for the operational use of the specified systems. Furthermore, the ICAO Annexes contain procedures for regular and emergency communications that are specifically developed for aviation purposes, taking account of the operational conditions. These procedures supplement the basic requirements for procedures in aeronautical communications of the Radio Regulations. ITU Radio Regulations and ICAO SARPs together thus form a complementary set of regulatory provisions without any overlap. The ITU Radio Regulations must evolve within the general telecommunications environment, with its many and diverse users of the radio frequency spectrum, while the ICAO SARPs respond to the operational safety aspects of air navigation and are developed and agreed by aviation within the ICAO organizational framework.