According to reports, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a proposed new policy for the growing popularity of drones on the market to provide the need to apply for a license to use the radio communications band, the frequency is located in the 5G hertz band.
Currently, U.S. drones generally use a range of radio frequencies that do not require a license and are subject to the FCC’s regulatory requirements for low-power wireless communications, while some drones use experimental radio spectrum licenses.
In addition to the above-mentioned plan to provide 5G Hz spectrum resources specifically for drones, the FCC also announced that it will solicit community input on whether the current regulatory regime for radio communications can ensure that drones and terrestrial mobile communications can operate “interference-free” at the same time.
In addition, the FCC also proposed another proposed regulatory regime that would require U.S. agencies flying drones to apply for a radio license in the VHF band used by civil aviation if they want to communicate with civil air traffic control agencies and other civil aircraft.
FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel (Jessica Rosenworcel) said that with the emergence of new technologies and products such as drones, the FCC must ensure that the U.S. radio frequency regulatory system to adapt to the new needs, the new regulatory system for U.S. disaster recovery, emergency relief, forest fire suppression and other work is very important.
Currently, U.S. drones are operated remotely, so they rely heavily on wireless communications between ground control sites and airborne drones to ensure proper flight, the FCC said.
The FCC said that with the growing popularity of drones in the United States, the risk of drone operations is increasing, such as some large drones will be transporting cargo or personnel, or into the airspace traditionally used by civilian airliners, which makes the drone operators a new demand for more reliable, non-interference radio frequency resources.
In April 2021, another U.S. regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, reportedly launched a number of regulatory regimes for drones, primarily related to small drones flying over ground-based residents and flying at night.
This regulatory regime required U.S. drone manufacturers to begin producing drones equipped with so-called “remote IDs” within a year and a half.
“Remote ID” is equivalent to providing an identification system for aerial drones, which are required to broadcast their identity information to other aircraft via radio.
The FAA’s original draft regulation had required drone operators to give their devices access to the Internet to transmit aerial drone location information at all times, but the final drone ID regulations removed those requirements. In July of last year, however, a federal appeals court upheld the FAA’s addition of these elements to the regulatory regime.
