The symposium marked an important milestone for the PENS community, combining service continuity with preparations for the next generation of the network: PENS 3.0. It reaffirmed the role of the current NewPENS service, operated by BT since 2018, while setting out the strategic direction for a more resilient, scalable and future-ready European ATM communications infrastructure. EUROCONTROL leads and manages the procurement for the service in close cooperation with the European aviation community. At the same time, in its role as Network Manager, EUROCONTROL is one of the principal users of the service, relying on NewPENS to support the safe and efficient flow of cross-border air traffic management information.
Since its launch in 2009, PENS has supported the transition from fragmented connectivity arrangements to a common IP-based regional backbone. Today, NewPENS connects stakeholders across 44 countries and supports more than 48 users, including air navigation service providers, ATM organisations, airports, airlines, military organisations and meteorological services. It has become a cornerstone of cross-border operational information exchange in Europe.
A key milestone of the symposium was the signing of an extension to the existing NewPENS contract with BT. This extension secures operational stability for the current service and provides the necessary transition period while the community prepares the governance, procurement and service framework for PENS 3.0.
PENS 3.0 will build on the achievements of NewPENS and respond to the evolving needs of European aviation, including growing digitalisation, increased bandwidth requirements and the need for stronger operational resilience. Its planned dual-core architecture will provide resilience at network level through a common European approach, supporting more robust and cost-efficient connectivity for the aviation community.
The symposium confirmed the continued strategic relevance of PENS as a shared European infrastructure and underlined the importance of managing the transition to PENS 3.0 in a coordinated, transparent and community-driven manner. With the BT contract extension in place and preparations for PENS 3.0 advancing, EUROCONTROL and its aviation partners are laying the foundation for a resilient, scalable and future-proof communications network for European aviation.
