The author of the article is apparently so uninformed that not only does he realize that ACARS is available, but that is uses the same "awful, really awful" HF radio.
It's actually a brilliant system, with network of transmit and receive sites its like globally available text messaging for pilots.
Also, unless the pilot was using atrocious equipment I can't see why HF radio would sound awful. I use my HF radio almost daily and don't have any complaints. I can legally listen to air traffic controllers on HF with no problem as well. The equipment I have is far, far inferior to that in most commercial airliners.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Frequency_Data_Link
It's actually a brilliant system, with network of transmit and receive sites its like globally available text messaging for pilots.
Also, unless the pilot was using atrocious equipment I can't see why HF radio would sound awful. I use my HF radio almost daily and don't have any complaints. I can legally listen to air traffic controllers on HF with no problem as well. The equipment I have is far, far inferior to that in most commercial airliners.