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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system of 24 FAA Area Control Centers, 20 in the lower 48 United States, one in Alaska, one in Hawaii, one in Puerto Rica and one in Guam. The system operates with radar data provided by FAA radar sites, DoD radar sites, and other federal agency radar sites. These centers provide en route and oceanic services to private, commercial, and military aircraft overflying their respective control areas. As aircraft enter or exit from one control area to the next, responsibility for the aircraft is transferred to the gaining ARTCC. Voice communication between aircraft and the ARTCCs is supported by a network of ground-air radio sites often co-located with the radar sites.

The gathering of radar, beacon and other sensor data are now largely automated and continuous, but the actions necessary to control the airspace are conversational and require some 14,000 FAA air traffic controllers talking directly to pilots in the air and on the ground at terminals. This number does not include military air traffic controllers.