h701,
I don't have a financial interest in any of this, but work as a 'Coalface' ATC for ASA. I don't have a lot of love for my employer, but am passionate about Aviation.
To me, understanding that ASA is run as a Government owned corporation means that the government of the day is once removed from the business decisions.
ASA is responsible for their part of aviation infrastructure within government guidelines.
ASA gets the great majority of its funding from the RPT airlines and is at the point where some very expensive components of its infrastructure are up for renewal, or its charter require new components due traffic levels.
As a business it needs to pass on these costs, both inital and ONGOING. Who will wear these costs? The groups who pay most of this money, the airlines.
ADS-B is a more efficient and safer way of delivering this surveillance technology.
However in going down this path, it is no good having the technology if the people you want included in it, and want to 'see', don't want to fork out the upfront costs for something they feel will not benefit them ( Fair enough T28D).
The airlines want improved safety by being able to see T28D as he puts down or takes off from Karratha,Gove,Katherine etc etc. They also don't want to be stuck down at lower levels waiting for a procedural standard (10 Minutes etc etc) to exist before they can get climb.
That is the safety, or saving, benefit.
The REAL BIG saving for the airlines is in ongoing costs, rather than a large, expensive moving parts SSR exposed to the elements is a much smaller,cheaper, no moving parts to maintain, ADS-B ground unit which will deliver the same results at a fraction of the price.
If you were in business, and your supplier said I am about to implement something that will cost you no more in the short-term than you were previously paying, but I will have to subsidise others in the system, AND long term I will reduce my prices, AGAINST, I will continue to charge at this rate ad-infinutim plus increases. As the big payer, which way would you go?
Re- a couple of items you may not be aware of.
If you check ASAs annual reports you will find they actually were paid
regional subsidies by the government to continue to provide ATC functions in regional areas that were loss making.
ASA actually manage some outstation towers in the USA.
ASA manages airspace for the Solomon Islands and Nauru under a commercial arrangement.
It is time we moved away from thinking that ASA are the old Department of Aviation, Department of Transport,CAA etc. They have moved on, for better or for worse. They can, commercially, do this.