Air carrier pilot reported that ACARS displayed 'no comm' when descending into congested airspace.

Attributes
ACN	1570745
Time
Date	201808
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Commercial Fixed Wing
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Descent
Component
Aircraft Component	ACARS
Person 1
Function	Other / Unknown
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

ACARS on every one of my flights in [my rotation] has been no comm when descending into congested airspace. Doesn't matter where or aircraft type. During critical phases; a primary safety tool is out of service. Spotty wifi makes retrieving landing data nearly impossible. A divert would be an unnecessary challenge to legally pull off.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air Carrier Pilot reported that ACARS displayed 'NO COMM' when descending into congested airspace.

Narrative: ACARS on every one of my flights in [my rotation] has been NO COMM when descending into congested airspace. Doesn't matter where or aircraft type. During critical phases; a primary Safety tool is out of service. Spotty WiFi makes retrieving landing data nearly impossible. A divert would be an unnecessary challenge to legally pull off.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.