Northeastern University Researchers Say More Spectrum Needed for Drones

Northeastern University wireless IoT institute researchers said drones need more spectrum, including in 960-1164 MHz and 5030-5091 MHz. The FCC sought comment last year (see 2001280034). Based on experiments, the researchers concluded “there is spectrum scarcity in the existing cellular spectrum,” said a posting Wednesday in docket 19-356. “Adding additional use-cases of [unmanned aerial system] operation is going to stretch available resources.” Making other frequencies available “will reduce the dependency on legacy spectrum,” they said. Work remains on how to protect other users, especially in the lower band that's used for air-traffic control, they said.