@underfire
What you quote there is from an old document. Here's what the current version states:
The FAA expects ICAO GAST-D Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS) will be approved in 2016 for publication in 2018.
The FAA is currently supporting a non-Federal applicant’s request for System Design Approval (SDA) for a GAST-D GBAS. The FAA currently projects that this SDA will be finalized in 2019.
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org...a/GBAS_FAQ.pdf
So again, the standards have not yet been published, and even design approval isn't expected until 2019. That means an operational GAST-D system will not be available until 2020 or beyond.
Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, GBAS in the US is considered a NON-FEDERAL system. It is NOT like ILS or other NAVAIDs which are paid for and maintained by the FAA.
So although GBAS is part of the airport infrastructure, the
funding for GBAS has to come from primarily from the users, i.e., airlines. The airport authority might contribute some seed amount, but at the end of the day, it is the airlines which benefit from the system so if they want GBAS they're expected to burden the bulk of the cost (through fees, etc.)
Extracts from FAA material:
A Category 1 (CAT 1) GBAS system is available and in use in the National Airspace System. While the FAA has indefinitely delayed plans for federal GBAS acquisition, the system can be purchased by airports and installed as a Non-Federal navigation aid. ...
What is a Federal System versus a non-Federal system?
Throughout the National Airspace System, you will find a mixture of Federal and non-Fed navigational aids. The Federal systems are paid for and maintained by the FAA. However, some airports, cities, and/or private entities may purchase and maintain a navigational aid for either private or public use. These navigational aids are known as non-Fed systems because the FAA did not purchase them, nor does the FAA maintain them. However, to ensure public safety, the FAA does retain the power to approve or not approve these non-Fed systems; additionally, they inspect them annually.
If you were an airline paying for the navaid, and the capability... what would you want to pay for?
Considering that currently:
- ILS -- paid for by the FAA
- GBAS -- paid for by the airlines
It's pretty clear that the airlines will consider cost/benefit of GBAS very carefully. Maybe in the future GAST-D will be part of the Federal system, but right now GBAS is Non-Fed.