NARRBEGIN: FAA
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration has been struggling for several years with antiquated systems,
and all it takes is a single failure on one piece of the system to shut down the entire air-traffic control
system for several hours, resulting in significant snarls at major airports. The most recent failure
occurred in the FAA’s core telecommunications network, called the Federal Telecommunications
Infrastructure (FTI), which is managed by Harris Corporation. Marc Raimondi, a spokesperson for
Harris Corporation, said, “The FTI system has proven to be one of the most reliable and secure
communications networks operating within the civilian government.” Snafus like this have been
happening with alarming frequency, prompting Congress to demand the FAA and its contractors to do
more to prevent these malfunctions. The problem is that the FAA has been using a patchwork
approach by updating with modern hardware and software on old systems instead of a complete
overhaul of the system. The FAA’s next generation of modernization will rely on satellite-based
networks instead of phone lines and data cables. The FAA is waiting for White House approval on
whether it will have the funds to take this next step.
NARREND
122. Refer to FAA. The FAA is what type of business buyer?
123. Refer to FAA. The company that wins the contract to develop the satellite-based system for the FAA
will have to purchase satellites and mainframe computers for this system. These types of products are
best described as which type of business product?
124. Refer to FAA. Harris Corporation provides which type of business product to the FAA?