FCC's Work on Licensed Spectrum for Drones Expected to Take Years
Working through a series of items on the use of the 5030-5091 MHz band by drones will likely take years, Hogan Lovells’ Ari Fitzgerald warned during a webinar Tuesday by the FCBA’s Florida Chapter. The FCC released an NPRM in January on use of the band by unmanned aircraft systems (see 2301040046) though comments dates haven’t been set.
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It’s good the FCC approved the NPRM, but “it will take many years before these issues are resolved,” said Fitzgerald: “A lot of details need to be worked out.” Since the FCC is proposing an auction, some UAS users are concerned the cost of getting a license may be too high, while others worry it will take several more years for existing commercial networks to support UAS, he said.
“These concerns make it even more important for the agency to explore other spectrum bands that could possibly be used for UAS,” including the 4.9 GHz band, the focus of another recent FCC order and Further NPRM (see 2301180062), Fitzgerald said. He noted the 4.9 GHz rules proposed by the FCC wouldn’t currently allow use by drones, though the agency is examining options.
UAS operators now have limited options, Fitzgerald said. “Unlicensed spectrum doesn’t provide formal protection against harmful interference, which raises link reliability issues,” he said. Most drone hobbyists are happy to use unlicensed spectrum, he said. “But as drones get bigger and bigger, and there are more of them and the duration of their missions gets longer and longer, there will be a burning need for licensed spectrum,” he said.
Operators also have to rely on experimental licenses from the FCC and rule waivers, but neither option is ideal long term, Fitzgerald said. “Experimental licenses are supposed to be used for short-term experiments only, and obtaining rule waivers from the FCC can be very time-consuming and costly,” he said.
Verizon is exploring how customers can use its flexible-use spectrum to control drones, said Melissa Tye, associate general counsel. “We do think that there are a lot of opportunities given the breadth of our network, the ubiquity, the amount of investment and innovation that goes into our network,” she said. Drone operators want options and the FCC should allow for flexibility, she said. Verizon plans to comment on the drone rulemaking, she said: “There’s kind of a lot of uncertainty, and it’s really early days in terms of looking at the flexible-use spectrum to support drones,” she said.
Verizon is actively using drones, especially for infrastructure inspection, Tye said. Use of drones cuts down on the number of tower climbs required, and while drones can’t be used to repair towers, they can make the initial inspections, she said. Verizon also utilizes drones for inspections after disasters, she said. During Hurricane Ian, Verizon used a tethered-drone to provide service to first responders, she said.
Tye said the two main ways drones use spectrum are to stream photos and video to the ground and for command and control, she said. There will also be increased need for drones to communicate with each other, she said.
Most drones are using the unlicensed 2.4 and 4.8 GHz bands, said Eric Schwartz, Florida Power & Light manager-technology and innovation. “There’s a lot of jumping and a lot of interference,” he said. Schwartz said UAS operators don’t want an auction of drone spectrum because they’re not sure if they can afford to buy licenses. FPL uses drones for a variety of uses, especially disaster recovery, Schwartz said. As part of Hurricane Ian, the utility used 66 drones and collected more than 50,000 images showing storm damage, he said.
People don’t realize the important role spectrum is going to play for advanced air mobility, for drone taxis and the future of large-scale drones, Schwartz said. FPL is “looking at all options available” for spectrum, he said.
The FCC has a limited role on drones and the agency must work closely with the FAA, Fitzgerald said. “The FAA has to respect … the FCC’s expertise regarding spectrum,” he said: “There have been some issues where sometimes there are folks at the FAA who think they know more about spectrum than the FCC does. That’s not the case.”