Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 2000 / Sentech is the common carrier signal distributor in South Africa for Television and Radio programs. This radio telephone system is used by the company as a communications link for voice and data between remote transmitter sites and the Transmitter Control Centre. The system was installed in 1986 and consists of a mixture of fixed bases and mobile units. The location of these transmitting sites is mainly on top of mountains in remote, sparsely populated areas. The use of cellular telephones for communication is impossible, as 80% of the sites fall outside the coverage area of the cells. Telkom infrastructure in these areas is most of the time not available or consists of shared farm lines. Only in the big metropolitan centres can data lines be considered at the main sites. It is not cost effective to consider it for the small sites. When the new system was installed, it replaced a single repeater system that relayed VHF radio signals from as far as 200 Km. The new system was a major improvement over the old system. Within a year it became apparent that it did not fulfill in all the needs of the company. A telephone-patch and two-tone cell call was added to increase the functionality. Data transfer and call-out systems were added to implement the new telemetry system to the sites. When the old handhelds became unreliable and the new units only use DTMF signalling, it became apparent that the system had to be upgraded.

Radiotelephony between air traffic controllers and pilots utilises standard phraseology as the medium of communications. Standard phraseology employs specific structure, terminology and pronunciation to ensure effectiveness and accuracy. On occasions when standard phraseology is found insufficient, plain language is used to efficiently relay vital information. By default, English is the designated language of communication between controllers and pilots of international flights. Deviations from the usage of standard phraseology and lack of language proficiency had been identified as one of the causal factors in safety occurrences. Language deficiencies, specifically of the non-native speakers of the English language, had raised much concern but there is limited information in the area. This research attempted to fill a small segment of this knowledge gap. It was focussed on the usage of standard phraseology and English language in an air traffic control environment involving English Second Language users. Audio data was sourced from routine radiotelephony recordings of ‘live’ air traffic control facilities in Malaysia to capture realistic communications between controllers and pilots in the Terminal Approach Radar, Area Radar and Aerodrome Control environments. A detailed cross sectional investigation of the radiotelephony characteristics, deficiencies and errors of transmitted messages revealed the radiotelephony performances of controllers and pilots in the environments. The recurrence of deviations from standards and occurrence of errors implied the likelihood of such deficiencies taking place. Demographic groups’ descriptions complemented the radiotelephony analyses as background information on language related training. The results were comparative to other similar studies and offered new information on English Second Language speakers in the Air Traffic Control environment.

Radiotelephony between air traffic controllers and pilots utilises standard phraseology as the medium of communications. Standard phraseology employs specific structure, terminology and pronunciation to ensure effectiveness and accuracy. On occasions when standard phraseology is found insufficient, plain language is used to efficiently relay vital information. By default, English is the designated language of communication between controllers and pilots of international flights. Deviations from the usage of standard phraseology and lack of language proficiency had been identified as one of the causal factors in safety occurrences. Language deficiencies, specifically of the non-native speakers of the English language, had raised much concern but there is limited information in the area. This research attempted to fill a small segment of this knowledge gap. It was focussed on the usage of standard phraseology and English language in an air traffic control environment involving English Second Language users. Audio data was sourced from routine radiotelephony recordings of ‘live’ air traffic control facilities in Malaysia to capture realistic communications between controllers and pilots in the Terminal Approach Radar, Area Radar and Aerodrome Control environments. A detailed cross sectional investigation of the radiotelephony characteristics, deficiencies and errors of transmitted messages revealed the radiotelephony performances of controllers and pilots in the environments. The recurrence of deviations from standards and occurrence of errors implied the likelihood of such deficiencies taking place. Demographic groups’ descriptions complemented the radiotelephony analyses as background information on language related training. The results were comparative to other similar studies and offered new information on English Second Language speakers in the Air Traffic Control environment.