NPRM on Spectrum for Drones Could Come This Year, but Rules Will Have to Wait
The FCC is likely to issue an NPRM on spectrum in the 5030-5091 MHz band for unmanned aircraft system operations in coming months, but rules will have to wait until next year, industry lawyers told us Friday. Drones have been a White House focus, which could help get the FCC to act. An FCC report to Congress said the “unencumbered” 5030-5091 MHz band is likely suitable for UAS operations, but the 960-1164 MHz band isn’t. Last year, the FCC took comment on the possible use of both bands by drones (see 1912270039).
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One remaining concern is that there have been apparent interagency coordination problems, lawyers said. Jay Merkle, executive director of the FAA Office of UAS Integration recently said (see 2008190053) the agency is “less focused on trying to get spectrum than we are on what are our performance requirements are for any command and control system.” The FCC and the FAA didn’t comment.
The 5030-5091 MHz was designated for microwave landing systems, but “these systems have been rendered obsolete by the FAA’s Wide Area Augmentation System and Global Positioning System and are no longer in use,” said the report in Friday’s Daily Digest. Questions remain, the FCC said. The band “has technical and regulatory issues that need to be resolved before it can be used for UAS,” the report said: “Commenters raise concerns regarding the types of operation that can be accommodated in the 5030-5091 MHz band. Some maintain that 5030-5091 should be restricted to safety-of-life control functions, while the others support allowing flexibility in the band.”
The 960-1164 MHz band “is used extensively for numerous critical aeronautical navigation systems,” the FCC said: “These systems are used by private, commercial, and military aircraft to ensure safe passage and collision avoidance both in the air and on the ground at airports.”
“Full-time access to the 5030-5091 MHz spectrum band will help enable expanded UAS operations, in turn, unlocking economic benefits,” Max Fenkell, director-unmanned and emerging aviation technologies at the Aerospace Industries Association, told us. “Industry has long recognized the need for UAS operations to take place in this spectrum band, and we are pleased to see this announcement,” he said.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International “appreciates the report from the FCC and will review it carefully with its members’ interests in mind,” emailed Michael Robbins, executive vice president-government and public affairs. “Continued collaboration between the FCC and the FAA will be critical moving forward, and we will be working to not only promote that collaboration but also to ensure Congress continues to provide oversight of both agencies with the goal of advancing UAS operations,” he said.
The Eno Center for Transportation said in a report last week “the rapid development of UAS technologies contrasts with the relatively slow evolution of laws and regulations to ensure their safe use.” Regulation “currently functions largely on a ‘by-exception’ basis while policymakers and the aviation industry slowly work toward the vision of integrating UAS into a permanent regulatory framework,” the report said.
“The ability to receive authorizations from the FCC to transmit in radio frequency spectrum allocated for aviation safety purposes remains a very slow and complicated process,” the ENO report said, citing “confusion within the FAA spectrum office as to what procedures and frequencies should be used for approval of UAS aircraft systems.”