The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has moved a key part of its air traffic control network modernization effort to AT&T, awarding the company an initial $74.3 million award under a contract expected to grow into a multibillion-dollar deal.
The award covers initial work on FAA Enterprise Network Services, or FENS, the communications network that will support the agency’s broader overhaul of the US air traffic control system.
FENS is intended to replace the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure network that has supported agency communications for more than two decades. The system provides the backbone connecting air traffic facilities and other FAA operations across the National Airspace System.
The FAA previously awarded Verizon a 15-year FENS contract in 2023 worth more than $2 billion. That agreement called for Verizon to design, build, operate and maintain the agency’s next-generation communications platform.
The new AT&T award comes as the FAA accelerates work on its Brand New Air Traffic Control System, an effort to replace aging radar, telecommunications, software and hardware by the end of 2028.
The FAA said it is restructuring FENS around AT&T to accelerate deployment and meet its 2028 ATC modernization deadline, with Verizon remaining in a supporting role.
Telecommunications is one of the highest priorities in that program because it connects the National Airspace System, according to the FAA. The agency says it has already replaced more than one-third of its old copper infrastructure with high-speed digital fiber.
The broader modernization plan calls for 5,170 new high-speed network connections using fiber, satellite and wireless technology. It also includes 27,625 new radios, 462 digital voice switches and 612 new radars.
The FAA says the work is aimed at improving reliability and reducing delays caused by aging equipment. Flight-delay minutes attributed to equipment problems in 2025 were about 300% higher than the average from 2010 through 2024, according to the agency.
Congress has provided $12.5 billion toward the air traffic control overhaul, but the FAA says another $20 billion will be needed to complete the program.
The FAA has not yet disclosed the full value of the long-term AT&T FENS agreement. The initial $74.3 million award is the first publicly identified funded work under the new arrangement, but is certain to grow much larger over several years.