ADS-B Communication Interference in Air Traffic Management

<p>Automated Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) provides position and state information about aircraft and is becoming an essential component in the global air traffic management system. ADS-B transponders broadcast this key information on a common frequency to both other aircraft and to secondary surveillance radar systems located at ground stations. Both the aircraft transponders and the ground stations work together to assist in managing the commercial airspace. Since the aircraft transponders all broadcast on the same frequency and are in close proximity there is an apparent risk of interference and the garbling of the communications needed to manage the airspace.</p> <p>The question investigated in this research is whether empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that ADS-B transponders in air traffic space interfere with one another. The analysis shows that message rate per aircraft is negatively correlated with the number of concurrent aircraft in the managed airspace. This provides support for the hypothesis that ADS-B transponders do interfere with each other.</p>