Los Angeles International AirportCase Study

Los Angeles International Airport Boasts Largest AtlasIED Mass Communications System in the World

As part of an ongoing renovation of LAX, 14-and-counting AtlasIED GLOBALCOM^® systems deliver routine and emergency notifications throughout the facility.

Coined “the voice heard around the world,” the massive AtlasIED GLOBALCOM^® communications system deployed by Direct A/V at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) certainly lives up to the name. It propels both routine and critical messages, live and pre-recorded, throughout the facility and parking areas. As the preferred partner of LAX, the commercial technology integration firm Direct A/V keeps a close pulse of the technologies driving communications throughout LAX properties, choosing AtlasIED as their preferred provider of modern, state-of-the-art mass communications solutions.

The design and installation team at Direct A/V has relied largely on AtlasIED for many tech updates at LAX throughout the years—with each expansion or renovation adding and refining features or functionality to the flexible and scalable GLOBALCOM^® platform to keep on it on pace with the airport’s continual evolution. Recently, as the City of Los Angeles starts gearing up to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, LAX is ramping up too, spearheading an unprecedented number of enhancements to its core GLOBALCOM^® communications systems.

“AtlasIED provides a high-quality product and system that is configurable to meet any eventual need of a transportation hub like LAX,” says Larry Frontino, Owner of Direct A/V. “The cross-integration and scalability of AtlasIED’s platform paired with an uncompromising level of self-monitoring and reporting capability make it a powerful player in an ever-changing environment.”

To help streamline the implementation of GLOBALCOM^® technology at LAX, AtlasIED engineers attend weekly LAWA (Los Angeles Worldwide Airports) Paging Systems O&M meetings and provide ongoing maintenance and support. By collaborating closely with LAWA on its product roadmap and development schedule, AtlasIED has customized many solutions for LAX. Together, LAWA and AtlasIED have pioneered new transportation-focused communications concepts that are setting a new standard for other airports, as well.

For the monumental task, Direct A/V has configured and installed within newly built additions and renovations of existing areas several new GLOBALCOM^® communications systems, including headend controllers, amplifiers, speakers, and microphone stations. These new systems interoperate with LAX’s existing GLOBALCOM^® infrastructure, enabling notifications to be shared among all terminals.

Additionally, Direct A/V is leading LAX’s transition from its legacy CobraNet™-compliant AV-over-IP communications infrastructure to the more current Dante™ standard. Regardless of which technology—CobraNet™ or Dante™—each area of the airport utilizes, the communications flow remains seamless and extends to the rental car facility. To get the job done, LAX currently utilizes 14 GLOBALCOM^® controllers, 107 Titan amplifiers, 428 microphone stations, and 9,845 speakers. These numbers are expected to climb as terminals and other facilities continue to be built or renovated.

Be it via CobraNet™ or Dante™, the AltasIED GLOBALCOM^® network shuttles pages from microphone stations and pre-recorded messages from the LAX communications command center to all gates or select zones. Should an emergency arise, routine announcements cease automatically and GLOBALCOM^® gives priority to critical life-safety notifications, such as evacuation instructions.

Prioritization of messaging is vitally important to a transportation facility such as LAX; so is rock-solid reliability. There’s absolutely no room for error when the safety of passengers, staff, and visitors is on the line. Messages must be delivered quickly and accurately, without fail and even when an airport is going through a massive renovation. GLOBALCOM^® ensured this during the LAX expansion through its integrated fault-detection technology and supervision capabilities.

"Large-scale projects like this can often interrupt the existing communications infrastructure but with AtlasIED GLOBALCOM^®, from the network to speaker lines, we are always fully aware of any disruptions, making it easy to address these events as they occur,” Frontino continues.

The AtlasIED GLOBALCOM^® communications network will play a huge role in this mission, with Direct A/V remaining in close contact with the LAWA management team to ensure the future path of communications at LAX and surrounding facilities continues to facilitate safe, efficient travel and that the network design stays in sync with any current and future LAWA design guidelines.