Commenters Tell FCC Flexible-Use Licensed Spectrum Critical to Drones

The wireless industry, CTA and drone groups told the FCC that commercial spectrum is critical to safe operation of unmanned aerial systems. Comments were due Thursday on a notice on the use of the 960-1164 MHz and 5030-5091 MHz bands by drones. Commenters also agreed on the importance of flexible-use licensing. The comments reflect unusual consensus on a spectrum issue. The FCC is seeking comment as a requirement of Section 374 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.

The FCC is already examining a petition by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) for rules for using the 5030-5091 MHz band for UAS system controls (see 1909120073). “The mission, not a one size fits all approach, should drive the type of spectrum used for an individual operation,” emailed Max Fenkell, AIA director-unmanned and emerging aviation technologies. “This includes access to the 5030-5091 MHz Band (C-Band) which was allocated at the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference for this exact purpose. For that reason, AIA and its members continue to ask that the FCC move the AIA petition for rulemaking in the 5030-5091 MHz spectrum band forward to the NPRM phase.”

The Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, an advisory group to the NTIA, is also examining UAS spectrum (see 1909270047).

Stakeholders agree that commercial spectrum is needed now for UAS command and control and for managing payloads, said a lawyer active in the proceeding: “Not only is there are a great thirst for spectrum, but also demand to access this spectrum grows more pressing every day.”

One in 10 homes owns a drone, based on its research, CTA said in docket 19-356: “CTA members are exploring a wide range of deployment scenarios, including uses that will rely on commercial spectrum. Because UAS deployment scenarios will vary and spectrum needs are not uniform, a flexible, technology-neutral regulatory approach is best suited to fostering innovation.”

The Commercial Drone Alliance said any new allocations should supplement “UAS use of any currently permitted frequencies for command and control links.” Current licensing procedures prevent the “robust use of ... commercial spectrum” for drones, the group said. It urged cooperation between the FAA and the FCC to develop criteria for experimental authorizations. “Such criteria would allow UAS operators to safely conduct expanded operations such as flights over people, beyond line of sight, and at night,” the alliance said: “In the long-term, additional cooperation between the FCC and FAA to establish a clear, streamlined set of rules governing UAS licensing procedures would allow UAS operators to more efficiently utilize any new spectrum allocations.”

The Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Coalition said federal policy should “not only embrace, but also encourage,” growth in the number of drones. Studies underway by the wireless industry about use of commercial spectrum for unmanned traffic management “show promise,” the coalition said: The tests show “commercial, licensed networks are not only capable, but particularly well-suited to promoting safe and reliable connectivity for UAS operations.” Flexible-use spectrum rules are critical, the group said. Under existing licensing rules “only a few spectrum bands have explicit prohibitions on air-to-ground communications,” it said. “The Commission’s service and technical rules rely instead on power limits, out of band emission standards, and geographic licensing restrictions to control for issues relating to harmful interference” and have allowed drone usage to “flourish,” it commented.

“The Small UAV Coalition's comments reflect support for the framework the commission has developed over the last two decades to focus on technical parameters while providing licensees and users of unlicensed spectrum the opportunity to innovate within those parameters,” said outside counsel Gregory Guice of McGuireWoods: “We continue to believe that that framework will inure to the benefit of innovators in the UAS space, without having to engage in a lengthy rulemaking process to designate specific spectrum for specific uses in this area.”

Carriers Agree

“Safe UAS operations will depend on use of reliable, secure, and protected communications over licensed spectrum to support in-flight command and control systems as well as communication to payload applications,” CTIA said.

T-Mobile told the FCC it uses drones to examine its infrastructure and is exploring how its LTE network can be used to support drone operations. “Successful UAS operation will rely upon wireless spectrum for both command and control as well as payload communications,” the carrier said: “While T-Mobile supports the use of the 1 and 5 GHz bands for UAS operations, the Commission should not hinder the use of these bands with arbitrary restrictions on potential uses. Instead, allowing for flexible use will permit use for UAS and other aeronautical mobile systems, while simultaneously allowing for other innovative uses.”

“Spectrum licensed for wireless communications has supported the safe and effective deployment of drones in the fields of agriculture, construction, emergency services, healthcare, and logistics, to name just a few examples,” Verizon said: “The list of possible deployments grows every day, and the ongoing transition to 5G will only accelerate that trend.”

But the GPS Innovation Alliance raised concerns about protecting GPS and global navigation satellite system technologies in the 1164-1215 MHz band from harmful interference. “Enabling and integrating safe UAS operations into the National Airspace System must be balanced with protecting existing navigation and aviation operations and incumbent spectrum use,” the group said.

Lockheed Martin wants interagency cooperation. “While the FCC is the expert agency on licensing spectrum to commercial entities, full collaboration with NTIA is imperative to ensure that the joint Section 374 response addresses national spectrum priorities and supports the significant promise of unmanned aircraft development as a key domestic objective,” the company said.