ACR USING ACARS TELEMETRY TO COORD PUSHBACK WITH GND CTLR THROUGH COMPANY RAMP CTL. GND CTL HAS RECEIVED WRONG GATE INFO FROM ACR COMPANY RAMP CTL.

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IAD ARPT RAMP OPERATED BY ARPT AUTH. WE CONTINUED TO RECEIVE INACCURATE GATE INFO ON ACFT THAT ARE BEING ISSUED PUSH CLRNCS VIA DATA LINK. LAST EVENING; THE CTLR RECEIVED A PUSH REQUEST FROM ACR ABCD; A SCHEDULED DEP FROM GATE AB ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE CONCOURSE FROM WHICH HE WAS ACTUALLY LOCATED. IF THE CTLR RECEIVES A RUSH REQUEST FROM A GATE ON THE N SIDE OF THE CONCOURSE AND THE ACFT IS ACTUALLY ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE; WE HAVE A SERIOUS PROB. SINCE THE ACR DOES NOT USE 'WING WALKERS' DURING A PUSH; THEY ARE ENTIRELY DEPENDENT ON THE RAMP CTLR TO ASSURE SEPARATION FROM TFC TAXIING BEHIND THE PUSH ACFT. THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST ARPTS IN THE COUNTRY TO USE THIS SYS DEVELOPED BY A COMMERCIAL RADIO PROVIDER. IT DOES NOT MEET EXPECTATIONS AND SHOULD NOT BE USED UNTIL A MORE REFINED SYS IS AVAILABLE. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES THIS IS A NEW DATA LINK SYS. THE GND CTLR IS ALERTED TO A PUSHBACK WITH A CHIME. THE GND CTLR LOOKS AT A RAMP GATE VISUAL DISPLAY AND ACKNOWLEDGES THE PUSHBACK BY EITHER A HOLD; TAXI L OR TAXI R FUNCTION. THE RPTR ADVISES THAT THERE ARE INSTANCES THAT THE PUSHBACK APPROVAL MAY BE REFLECTED IN APPROVAL AT ANOTHER GATE. COMPANY RAMP CTL HAS RPTED THAT SOME OF THE PROBS ARE CAUSED WHEN AN ACFT IS AT THE GATE; BUT HAS NOT ACTIVATED THE SENSOR THAT SHOWS THE GATE OCCUPIED; THUS CAUSING THAT GATE TO BE ASSIGNED TO ANOTHER FLT; AND THE FLT WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY ASSIGNED THAT GATE TO BE ASSIGNED AT ANOTHER. THUS THE FLT NUMBER IS ACTIVATED AT SOME DISTANT GATE; AND THE PUSHBACK COULD CONFLICT WITH SOME OTHER ACFT TAXIING THROUGH THE AREA. FAA E-MAILS ALL PROBS TO THE COMMERCIAL SYS PROVIDER AND THE AIRLINE. THE SVC PROVIDER CLAIMS THE SYS IS IN DEVELOPMENT. THE RPTR ADVISED THAT COMPANY RAMP CTL WILL BE RECEIVING THE SAME VISUAL DISPLAY AS PROVIDED THE TWR; AND THIS IS EXPECTED TO ASSIST IN PROB TROUBLESHOOTING AND RESOLUTION.