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New fiber optic cable installed in attempt to fix air traffic control chaos plaguing Newark airport
NY Post ^ | 05/29/2025 | Patrick Reilly

Posted on 05/29/2025 11:54:03 AM PDT by DFG

A new fiber optic cable has been installed to try to fix the air traffic control issues plaguing Newark International Airport.

The new cable is already in place between Philadelphia and New York and should be ready for use by July, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.

“That was the trouble portion of the line,” Duffy said of the terrifying communication outages causing numerous flight scares and chaos.

“It’s been laid, and we’re doing some of the connections right now, and then we have to test it. I don’t want to over promise and under deliver.

“If it all goes well, we should be able to turn over this new fiber line at the start of July,” he added.

Air traffic controllers in Philadelphia have repeatedly lost contact with Newark flights, including on April 28 when crucial communications were knocked out for roughly 90 seconds.

There have been three more outages at the bustling travel hub since then, CNN reported.

Chaos has gripped the airport over the last several weeks because of air traffic controller shortages, technology glitches and runway construction.

Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration drastically cut flights to Newark Airport over the next several months while improvements are made.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 05/29/2025 11:54:03 AM PDT by DFG
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To: DFG

Fiber optic cable? That’s entirely too modern, Secretary Duffy. What would Pete Buttigieg say! /sarc


2 posted on 05/29/2025 12:04:38 PM PDT by House Atreides (I’m now ULTRA-MAGA-PRO-MAX)
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To: DFG

Something Buttigieg could have had done four years ago when this stuff was already happening.


3 posted on 05/29/2025 12:10:45 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative. )
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To: House Atreides
Fiber optic cable? That's entirely too modern, Secretary Duffy. What would Pete Buttigieg say!

He'd say - "Fiber optic? Don't they use that for colorectal exams?"

4 posted on 05/29/2025 12:16:14 PM PDT by llevrok (Keep buggering on!)
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To: DFG

I love how people think that dropping a piece of fiber will make everything “right.”

You can put fiber there and it will work….just as poorly as it did before.

It has as much to do with the systems on either end, and how well they work over distance. In a lot of cases, “putting in fiber” simply means a bad system will fail at a faster pace than the old one.


5 posted on 05/29/2025 12:21:16 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: Vermont Lt

Not necessarily. If it was a communications circuit problem, fiber should provide much higher reliability and redundancy.

If, as FR’s Tech Experts like to blather, it was a problem with their 8 inch floppy drives, then no, it won’t help.


6 posted on 05/29/2025 1:07:44 PM PDT by bigbob (Yes. We ARE going back)
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To: bigbob

I have a Commodore 64 I could donate if they want to upgrade their system.


7 posted on 05/29/2025 1:09:46 PM PDT by shelterguy
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To: House Atreides

What would Pete Buttigieg say!

Well there’s your problem your pipes have wires in them.


8 posted on 05/29/2025 1:21:37 PM PDT by Vaduz
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To: llevrok
He'd say - "Fiber optic? Don't they use that for colorectal exams?"

Thats not what Pete uses.
9 posted on 05/29/2025 1:26:02 PM PDT by Old Yeller (On judgement day, you’ll wish you were biblically correctly, not politically correct.)
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To: DFG
That was my first thought for a fix. They were using old twisted pair telephone wires.
It's time to get into the 21st Century.

10 posted on 05/29/2025 1:59:17 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and His mercy endures forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

Everybody knows the fiber optic cable runs along Amtraks northeast corridor . Some stupid gandy dancers obviously pierced it.


11 posted on 05/29/2025 2:09:47 PM PDT by conductor john (from jersey)
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To: DFG

Mrs Pete Buttguy: Have you tried rebooting the system?


12 posted on 05/29/2025 2:47:27 PM PDT by RetiredTexasVet (Trump has arrived and it is awesome to have a real President.)
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To: bigbob

They blame it on the “copper” wires.

I spent 20+ years in the telecom business. Based on the way this was described, you would think all they needed to do was tighten down some wire connectors and the connection would be good to go.

The problem with these types of explanations is that they never address the issues in a technical way. They use terms like “glitch.”

I am assuming this was a “bulk” of data issue. My guess is that they were trying to push too much data through their old crappy modems and that was causing them delay issues. Yes, fiber would fix that. But fiber modems like that are not cheap. In the end you would have a 16 lane superhighway to send information between sites—better than the 4 land Interstate it is replacing.

I guess my point was that you could build the super highway and make the transport easy…but if the exit ramps are still offloading onto goat paths you are still going to have issues.


13 posted on 05/29/2025 3:06:23 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

In my last job I used to suggest we “Get into the 20th century…now that it’s over!”

That did not go over well in budget meetings.


14 posted on 05/29/2025 3:07:33 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: Vermont Lt
Hahahaha. 😀
I was really surprised when they said they weren't using fiber. In 2025!

15 posted on 05/29/2025 4:57:08 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and His mercy endures forever. — Psalm 106)
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