Commenters Support Drones in 5030-5091 MHz

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) asked the FCC to act on rules allowing use of 5030-5091 MHz by drones, in comments posted Wednesday in RM-11798. Others stressed dynamic spectrum access in the band. The FCC initially took comment on the band in 2019, responding to a request by AIA (see 1912270039). In August, the Wireless Bureau asked for comments for a record refresh (see 2108230034). “The record overwhelmingly demonstrates support for permanent access to the 5030-5091 MHz band to provide [unmanned aircraft system] command and control,” AIA said. “AIA agrees with the Bureau that the time is ripe to address the technical, operational, and regulatory questions that AIA’s Petition poses.” The UAS industry needs to "access the entire band as soon as practicable" and the regulatory regime should be "appropriate for aviation safety spectrum,” Boeing said. It wants to “condition license eligibility for UAS operators on use of certificated pilots,” under a “dynamic frequency assignment model that prioritizes efficiency” and no "altitude restrictions.” The band is “central to successful domestic/international UAS development and advancement, particularly for larger UAS” operating in FAA-controlled airspace, said Aviation Spectrum Resources. It supports a “flexible spectrum access model developed and guided by the end user community in conjunction with the FAA.” Federated Wireless said its spectrum access system (SAS) technology “can dynamically assign any number of bands for UAS communications, depending on the mission and the needs of the UAS and the operator, including the 5030-5091 MHz band." SAS systems can "provide authoritative and virtually real-time decisions on requests to transmit or assign usage rights, enforce the use of authorized devices, and monitor spectrum assignments and, in some cases, actual usage,” the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance said. The Commercial Drone Alliance also supported a rulemaking.