Not much has changed this side of the Channel, FANS still needs disconnecting if not acknowledged within 40 seconds so is very rarely used unless it is to transfer an aircraft to another ANSP, but there is a bit more usage of ATN simply as more aircraft are logging on. But as was two years ago, on the shorter "point and shoot" sectors it isn't used much for heading/level changes as waiting for up to 40 seconds is far too long. It's a tool, it has shown some safety benefits over the 2 years too, but the voice will always be the primary communication.