Harris Corp. has agreements in place with five major carriers, including United Airlines, to equip more than 1,500 aircraft over the next six years with digital communications gear that will accelerate ground operations at 57 airports by mid-2019 and remove most voice communications with air traffic control in the en route environment beyond 2019. The FAA estimates that the tally represents 80% of the "tipping point" number of aircraft needed to make con- troller-pilot data-link communications (datacomm) practical in terms of capacity increases that will provide a return on investment for airlines and the FAA.
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