FCC clears nationwide test of cellular networks for drones

If you thought your phone was the only thing relying on America’s cell towers, the FCC wants to test a very different possibility: drones could soon use those same commercial networks as part of the infrastructure keeping them connected and visible in the sky.

The Federal Communications Commission has approved a temporary waiver supporting the US Department of Transportation’s Mobile Network Aviation Assessment Program (MNAAP). The nationwide research and proof-of-concept program will test whether commercial wireless networks can support aviation safety and security services as more aircraft, particularly drones, enter US airspace.

And this is bigger than simply asking whether a drone can get a 5G signal. The DOT wants to investigate whether cellular connectivity, satellite direct-to-device services and sidelink technologies could eventually support some pretty important pieces of the drone ecosystem, including Remote ID, drone command and control, electronic conspicuity, counter-drone detection and autonomous detect-and-avoid systems.

That matters because one of the biggest hurdles to expanding commercial drone operations is connectivity.

A drone flying beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) needs dependable ways to communicate and exchange information. That’s particularly important if the US wants to move toward larger-scale drone delivery, automated inspections and other operations where pilots can’t simply keep the aircraft in sight.

Instead of building an entirely separate communications network for drones, MNAAP is asking a potentially much simpler question: Can existing commercial networks do some of the job?

The testing will happen across the contiguous United States. The FCC’s waiver allows up to 2,000 DOT-authorized general aviation pilots to participate using compliant commercial wireless devices. It also allows up to 200 non-federal participants to operate drones equipped with dedicated MNAAP modules at the same time.

Those drone modules won’t just be random cellular hardware bolted onto aircraft, either. The FCC requires them to receive equipment authorization and mobile broadband provider certification, with additional restrictions on how they can be used. The testing also cannot cause harmful interference to wireless networks.

The FCC is making a substantial amount of spectrum available for the experiment, covering everything from lower-frequency 600 MHz, 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands through cellular, AWS, PCS, CBRS and several higher-frequency bands, including 24, 28, 37 and 47 GHz.

There is an important distinction here, though. The FCC has not just declared cellular networks ready for nationwide BVLOS drone operations. This is a test. The temporary waiver gives regulators and industry a way to gather real-world data about how wireless networks perform when aircraft are operating above the ground. The FCC says it plans to use what it learns to inform greater commercialization and use of spectrum for unmanned aircraft systems.

The waiver currently runs until October 1, 2029, giving the program several years to collect data. For drone operators, the immediate impact may be limited. You won’t suddenly be able to take a consumer drone, insert a SIM card, and legally fly it across the country beyond visual line of sight.

But the experiment could eventually help answer a question that becomes increasingly important as US skies get busier: Can the cellular infrastructure already covering America become part of the safety net for thousands, or eventually millions, of connected aircraft?

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