Categoria: Middle East

Erbil, or Arbil, also known in Kurdish as Hewlêr, is the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan and home to the governing bodies of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).

It is rapidly growing and getting back to the former splendour it had before the recent war. The local international airport is one of the most important ways of access to this city and Kurdistan in general, that is placed in one of the most strategic areas in the Middle East, connecting Syria, Turkey, Iran.

In the light of expanding and modernize the airport infrastructure, Erbil International Airport commissioned SITTI the supply of a brand-new VCS (Voice Communication System). SITTI will therefore be responsible for the design, set-up, integration and commissioning of the VCS itself and its ancillary equipment, including a VRS (Voice Recording and Replay System).

The VCS system that will be installed at Erbil in the first months of next year belongs to the world-renowned family called MULTIFONO® M800IP®. This system, which proved its extremely high reliability and flexibility in many hundreds of other installations all around the world, is fully IP based, fully conformant to the EUROCAE ED137 world standard, which defines the use of VoIP (Voice over IP) in the ATM (Air Traffic Management) field.

The Erbil system includes the capability of managing and properly interface both analogue and native IP radios and telephone lines, seamlessly connected to 5 controller working positions (CWP) from which air traffic controllers (ATCO) will be able to safely interact with aircrafts and provide them with proper flight instructions. The system by SITTI will be pre-wired for accommodating up to 16 CWPs that will be gradually added in the next future.

Last, but not least, the recording and playback system, VRS800S by SITTI, allows comprehensive recording of both voice and video, taking care of precise time alignment and synchronisation for a complete and self-contained playback. Concurrent recording of 32 VoIP channels and another 24 analogue audio links permits local officers to store the complete history of the system usage for possible investigation and training purposes.

Through this supply, SITTI confirms its proactive presence in the Middle East area with technological top-edge equipment that put the Erbil International Airport at the forefront of the most advanced airports in the region.

On November 7 to 8, 2022, SITTI has been exposing at SAE (Saudi Arabia Exposition) together with our local representative, Communication Experts. SITTI has been exporting its products to Saudi Arabia for long time and is willing to consolidate its presence in the country and also leverage on the successful results and positive feedbacks of the installed systems to propose its vast experience and product portfolio to other countries in the Middle East.

Expansion, Innovation and Collaboration are the leading keywords of this exhibition. These paradigms fully apply to SITTI that is expanding both its product offer and presence in the area, by introducing innovative solutions aiming at a larger and better collaboration and cooperation among the various stakeholders involved in Air Traffic Control (ATC).

SITTI is world leader in manufacturing, installation, commissioning of VCS systems (Voice Communication Systems) and their ancillary (but not less important) devices and services like recorders, gateways, console, clocks, training, thus providing customers with a comprehensive totally integrated solution when it comes to Air Traffic Control (ATC).

SITTI is a full member of ATI (Air Tech Italy), the Italian association of companies specialized in the supply of innovative products, technology and services for airport applications. The association is also exposing at SAE. This makes the Italian presence and offer even more attractive to local customers and neighboring countries, having the possibility of complementing SITTI proposals with products developed by companies of excellence.

KSAB is the acronym for King Salman Air Base, is a military air base in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. SITTI has already been supplying this country with many other equipment and systems during the past decades, through the Communications Experts local company.

SITTI is known in the Middle East region for its extremely reliable and flexible VCSs (Voice Communication Systems) that cover all communication needs for both military and civil air traffic. They seamlessly allow the coexistence of analogue, digital and VOIP (Voice over IP) technologies, thanks to dedicated interface features and boards that convert whichever received signal to VOIP and this latter to any legacy protocol when transmitting.

The VCS that is going to be supplied to KSAB belongs to the M800IP® family of MULTIFONO® VCS products, nowadays present in most countries in the world. It is fully compliant with the latest standards issued by international bodies like ICAO, EUROCONTROL and EUROCAE, with special emphasis on the ED 137 standard, cornerstone for the use of VOIP in the air management field.

Controllers have direct access to a significant number of analogue and VOIP radios and telephone lines in a seamless way, interacting with the system through ergonomic high performance keypads installed on consoles, also manufactured by SITTI.

The awarded order is complemented by a Crash Fire and Rescue System with 6 master crash phones and 20 secondary users to properly cope with emergency situations. The supply also includes a triple redundant GPS clock sub-system that provides precise synchronisation to all elements, with high precision free running mode in case of absence of the satellite signal.

SITTI is a primary VCS manufacturer and supplier worldwide, capable of giving prompt and top edge solution answers to Customer needs, both in the Civilian and Military fields. The leading edge, redundant, non-blocking architecture of the MULTIFONO® M800IP® provides flexibility and modularity for easy expansion and addition of further functionalities.

As part of the modernisation and upgrade of the ATC (Air Traffic Control) infrastructure used by DHMI, the Turkish ANSP (Air Navigation Service Provider), SITTI will also supply a significant number so-called Emergency Radio Access Devices (ERAD), as last resort resources for the access to remote transceivers.

These devices are air traffic control terminals, designed by SITTI as a powerful, flexible and cost-effective solution to ensure continuity of radio and telephone communications in the event of an emergency. Thanks to its all-in-one architecture, it is completely independent of the existing VCS network and is able to guarantee reliable communication with remote devices, even if the main system is out of order.

ERAD consists of an integrated operative position and associated electro-acoustical devices (PTT, microphone, loudspeaker), giving access to communication features through a 7 inch touchscreen panel, through which the operator can connect to any local and remote radio and telephone device.

Thanks to ERAD positions by SITTI, DHMI is equipped with a reliable emergency and contingency solution, thus guaranteeing continuity of service, even in case of emergency and/or catastrophic events.

SITTI is a world leader in Air Traffic Control (ATC), focusing on Voice Communication Systems (VCS) and ancillary equipment. The company has got a strong market position in Turkey, thanks to the SMART and Istanbul New Airport projects.

The Airport Show event is going to take place in Dubai in the period May 17-19, 2022. This exhibition is the largest show in its kind in the region, aiming at creating business opportunities between the world’s leading airport suppliers and service providers and the regional aviation airport decision makers.

SITTI is a founding member of Air Tech Italy (ATI), the Italian association putting together companies providing their products and services to #airports and Air Traffic Control. ATI will be participating in this exhibition in a pavillon dedicated to Italy and its MadeInItaly products, with the full support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the local embassy.

The participation in this event further marks the international leadership of SITTI in the Air Traffic Control market and related Integrated Products. SITTI has in fact already supplied a significant number of systems to most of the countries in the Arabic peninsula. The extremely positive relationship with local partners and customers allows SITTI to proposing its products and services to all interested stakeholders visiting the show.

Voice Communication Systems (VCS), VoIP gateways, recorders, integrated information solutions, consoles are the main products developed by SITTI to provide customers with a comprehensive solution to their needs.

We wait for you at the Italian Pavillon.

DHMI, the Turkish State Airports Administration is currently upgrading their VCSs (Voice Communication Systems) and network infrastructure to comply with the latest air management standards, especially concerning the world famous EUROCAE ED-137 standard, which details the way VoIP – Voice over IP – has to be used in the ATC (Air Traffic Control) field.

SITTI has already been providing DHMI with TDM-based VCSs that have been installed at all main ACC centres for the management of the air traffic in the Turkish crowded skies. Such VCSs proved their robustness and reliability to a so large extent that DHMI is not going to replace them, rather to use them in parallel to the new VoIP-based systems.

The new VCSs that SITTI is installing at the main ACC and APP centres in Turkey (Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman) will give access to a huge number of remote radio sites, in total accordance to the latest standards. Just as an example, the sole Ankara ACC will have the capability of managing more than 2400 remote VoIP radios. Similar dimensional capacities are possible at all other sites, with easily installable new interface that can be added to the system on-the-fly. The total number of new CWPs provided in this project is around 390 and the VCSs have been equipped for a total capacity of 4900 VoIP radios.

The new VCSs are accompanied by voice recording systems that complement the short-term recording feature available at each controller working position (CWP). The transition plan by DHMI foresees that controllers will be provided by a second touch screen device (CWP) for the access the new VoIP VCS features, until the time when the old one will be removed and controllers will have access to both the new VoIP and the old TDM-based VCSs from a single device.

“The modernization and upgrade of the existing VCS systems and network infrastructure” –Marco Scalia, SITTI Program Manager, says – “will allow the Turkish State Airports Administration to implement the latest top-edge technical achievements in the ATC field, to provide a more reliable and efficient service to airlines, thus making the routes between Europe and Asia even more safe.”