Critical Air-Traffic Control Infrastructure at Risk: The Urgent Challenge of America's Vulnerable Transportation Networks

The recent communication failures at Newark Liberty International Airport have exposed a critical vulnerability in America’s aviation infrastructure. These disruptions are not isolated incidents – they represent a systemic weakness in how critical communication networks are designed, maintained, and upgraded.

The 90-second blackout that left air traffic controllers struggling to manage airspace revealed a dangerous convergence of two critical threats: aging infrastructure and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. This wasn’t just a minor technical glitch, but a warning about the potential catastrophic consequences of outdated technology in critical sectors like transportation and air traffic control.

Actelis Networks, a company based in California solves these problems through solutions that go beyond conventional network modernization. Traditional upgrades often require massive capital investments and extensive downtime, leaving critical systems vulnerable for months and years. In contrast, Actelis’ solutions allow organizations to enhance their networking capabilities practically overnight, while simultaneously addressing the growing cybersecurity threats that plague legacy systems.

While traditional approaches often pit copper against fiber in a false dichotomy, calling sweeping upgrades of all infrastructure to fiber – the company has developed a sophisticated hybrid-fiber networking technology that addresses the dual challenges of reliability and security through integration and enhancement of multiple, existing infrastructure types. With Actelis’ technology, any existing infrastructure mix – fiber, copper or coax can be integrated immediately, without replacing the physical media – into a fiber-grade reliability, cyber-hardened network, that solves legacy network reliability and vulnerability today, with no downtime to operation or delays.

“We’re not just providing connectivity,” explains Tuvia Barlev, Chairman and CEO of Actelis Networks. “We’re engineering resilience. Our MetaLight and GigaLine solutions evolved to provide cyber protection, speed, and reliability, regardless of the underlying infrastructure, and importantly, practically overnight. The recent appeal by the major airlines is heard loud and clear – modernization has to occur urgently.”

What sets Actelis apart is its ability to deliver fiber-grade performance across hybrid networks, including legacy copper, coax and fiber, with no delay, downtime and at minimal cost. Transportation authorities and critical infrastructure operators can now achieve high-speed, secure connectivity without the traditional massive overhaul. The technology provides military-grade cybersecurity, high bandwidth, and remarkable versatility, while supporting future migration to a full-fiber network with the same equipment.

The flexibility of this approach is particularly compelling in sectors like aviation, where communication reliability can mean the difference between smooth operations and potential catastrophe. Actelis’ networking equipment can seamlessly transition between different infrastructure types, providing a future-proof solution that adapts to evolving technological and security landscapes.

Cybersecurity is no longer an afterthought but a critical layer of infrastructure protection. With certifications from the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) and compliance with federal security standards, the technology offers comprehensive protection against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats that target aging communication systems.

Recent incidents have starkly illustrated the risks of relying on outdated communication technologies. The Newark Airport disruption is a prime example of how aging infrastructure creates significant operational risks. Communication blackouts, reduced operational capacity, and potential safety issues underscore an urgent need for innovative, comprehensive solutions.

The message is clear: The ability to quickly adapt, enhance security, and improve performance is no longer a luxury – it’s an absolute necessity. Actelis Networks is not just offering a product; they’re providing a blueprint for infrastructure resilience that addresses the most pressing challenges of our technological ecosystem.

The choice for critical infrastructure operators is becoming increasingly straightforward: embrace adaptive, hybrid networking solutions that provide immediate, comprehensive protection, or risk being left vulnerable in an ever-more-complex technological landscape.