AT&T Testing Drones as Flying Cells on Wheels

AT&T is testing the use of drones as flying cells on wheels, with the initial launch at a field in rural Missouri, it said Thursday. “We had [an] intermittent, weak LTE signal at the flight location before we launched the 5G Flying COW,” said Ethan Hunt, AT&T unmanned aircraft systems principal program manager. “We flew the drone up to about 300 feet, turned on the signal and it began transmitting strong 5G coverage to approximately 10 square miles,” he said. AT&T is considering using drones that could stay in the air for months using solar power.