US FAA says it will phase out floppy disks from air traffic control by 2028

>The FAA cited an October 13 event where a fiber optic cable connecting Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport to the FAA’s network was cut outside an airport gate, leading to the loss of data services between FAA facilities and requiring a ground stop.

Do they seriously not have a backup connection? I would have expected them to have a backup stelite or maybe even a 4G/5G mobile data system in place.

If I can use my phone as a Hotspot when Comcast is doing some service so I can work, I don't understand what idiot designed an airport without backup connections.

FAA website on EIDS: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/eids

Another article with some more details: https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-faa-is-still-using-floppy-dis...

I know they are saying IDS-4 is a "1980s" system, but it appears IDS-4 was actually developed in the early 1990s; it uses MS-DOS and 3.5 inch floppies: https://sysatl.com/systems-atlanta-inc-awarded-faa-ids4-sust...

alt link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/us-faa-says-phase-flo...