ARINC Identifies VDL Users

ARINC, Annapolis, Md., said it identified more than 2,200 individual aircraft using high-capacity VHF Digital Link (VDL) Mode 2 data link communications. The count includes aircraft that have logged onto ARINC’s worldwide VDL Mode 2 network since 2002 — more than 2,000 commercial planes from 40 airlines and about 200 military aircraft.
VDL Mode 2 provides expanded radio channel capacity. ARINC has championed VDL Mode 2 and invested heavily in network infrastructure on four continents to provide a seamless migration path forward from the industry standard ACARS data link. Today, most commercial aircraft are delivered with VDL avionics as standard equipment.
The expanded bandwidth of VDL Mode 2 — ten times that of ACARS — allows ARINC to offer a range of flight information for airlines, including graphic weather, electronic charts and engine/aircraft health monitoring programs. VDL Mode 2 also supports traditional ACARS data link applications via a hybrid service known as AOA, or ACARS Over AVLC (Aviation VHF Link Control).