February 8, 2006

MIC Requests Air Carriers and Foreign Telecommunications Administrations to Take Necessary Actions for Ensuring Normal and Safe Response of Mode S Transponders on board Aircraft

MIC was given a report from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) that MLIT found that there are few aircrafts that would not respond in a normal manner to the Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) Mode S, which are used at the CHUBU CENTRAIR International Airport, etc. Thus, MIC has requested that air carriers in Japan and foreign countries take remedial actions, and has also asked foreign telecommunications administrations to take necessary measures.

Currently in Japan, in order to promote safety of air traffic management (ATM), the Civil Aviation Bureau of MLIT has been introducing SSR Mode S into airports in Japan. The first SSR Mode S was installed at the CHUBU CENTRAIR International Airport on February 17, 2005. In mid-November of 2005, MIC received a report from MLIT that since March 2005, because a few transponders on board aircrafts did not respond to interrogation signals from SSR Mode S, air-traffic controllers could sometimes not recognize such aircrafts on radar screens. In such cases, air-traffic controllers directed those aircrafts to switch to backup transponders, and subsequently those aircrafts appeared normally on radar screens.
However, such cases where transponders on board aircrafts did not respond to interrogation signals from SSR Mode S infringe Article 38 of the Radio Law of Japan and Annex 10 of the "Convention on International Civil Aviation." Thus, MIC issued documents to request air carriers of Japan and foreign countries installing Mode S transponders on board aircrafts to ensure that such transponders shall respond normally and safely to interrogation signals from SSR Mode S systems. Also, MIC issued documents in order to request that foreign telecommunications administrations take necessary measures for ensuring normal and safe responses to interrogation signals from SSR Mode S systems.
+++++++++++++++
For further information about this press release, please fill in the inquiry form and submit it to MIC on the website
http://www.soumu.go.jp/joho_tsusin/eng/contact.html

International Policy Division,
International Affairs Department
Telecommunications Bureau, MIC
TEL: +81 3 5253 5920 / FAX: +81 3 5253 5924