B777-200 TRANSITING FROM KABUL TO UZBEKISTAN CTL HAS LOSS OF COM DUE TO MALFUNCTIONING GND BASED VHF AND HAF FACILITIES.

Narrative

APCHING AMDAR INTXN ON A-466 FROM KABUL; AFGHANISTAN; PROCEEDING INTO UZBEKISTAN AIRSPACE WHILE ENRTE TO NEW YORK (JFK). TRIED TO CONTACT SAMARKAND CTL ON CHARTED FREQ 135.1 MULTIPLE TIMES WITH NO SUCCESS. ALSO ATTEMPTED TERMEZ CTL ON CHARTED FREQ 134.8 MULTIPLE TIMES WITH NO SUCCESS. NOTE ON 'M-E' HI/LOW 5 AND 6 CHARTS STIPULATES CONTACT 10 MINS PRIOR TO FIR. PAST FLTS HAVE HAD SAME RESULT; NO CONTACT UNTIL JUST A FEW MI PRIOR TO FIR AT AMDAR. IN PAST COORD HAS BEEN POSSIBLE THROUGH KABUL CTL. ON THIS NIGHT KABUL HAD ALMOST TOTAL COM FAILURE ON VHF AND HF. WE HAD INTERMITTENT CONTACT ON A LOW ALT STANDBY FREQ; WHICH WAS GETTING WORSE THE FURTHER FROM KABUL WE GOT. KABUL WAS ABLE TO GIVE US AN UNCHARTED FREQ FOR TERMEZ CTL WHICH WE CONTACTED JUST PRIOR TO AMDAR. THEY ACKNOWLEDGED OUR POS RPT AND REQUESTED A POS RPT AT GUZAR (GR) AN AIRWAYS FACILITY BEACON ON A466 INSIDE THE COUNTRY'S BOUNDARIES. I TOOK THIS AS A CLRNC INTO UZBEK AIRSPACE. THE NOTE ON THE CHART WAS NOT MISSED. WE STARTED ATTEMPTING RADIO CONTACT WITH UZBEKISTAN CTLRS; EITHER SAMARKAND OR TERMEZ; 13-15 MINS PRIOR TO AMDAR. SO FAR ON BOTH TRIPS OVER THIS ROUTING SAMARKAND OR TERMEZ ARE NOT REACHABLE VIA RADIO UNTIL YOU ARE PRACTICALLY AT AMDAR; FAR INSIDE THE 27 KM LIMIT THEY SET FOR ESTABLISHING CONTACT. ON THIS NIGHT I FELT IT WAS MUCH SAFER TO PROCEED ON OUR FLT PLANNED COURSE THAN TO START DOING 360 DEG TURNS IN AFGHAN AIRSPACE IN LIGHT OF THE LACK OF RADAR COVERAGE THE ALMOST TOTAL COM FAILURE KABUL ATC WAS EXPERIENCING AND THE FAIRLY LARGE AMOUNT OF TFC WE HAD SEEN CLOSE TO US AT ALTS ABOVE AND BELOW. ALSO THERE WAS A FAIR AMOUNT OF ACFT TRYING TO CONTACT KABUL THAT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL AND IN OUR VICINITY. NOT ALL THE TFC AROUND US HAD TCAS; SO THAT WAS A FURTHER DETERRENT TO ORBITING IN A POS WHERE WE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO CONTACT TERMEZ OR SAMARKAND.