Major wireless industry groups and technology companies filed initial comments with the FCC this week calling for expanded licensed spectrum access for unmanned aircraft systems, marking the first major industry response to DA-26-314 — the commission’s April 1 “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” public notice that opened a broad rulemaking on UAS spectrum access, experimental licensing, and Counter-UAS regulatory barriers. Reply comments are due May 18.
The filings, submitted in docket 26-74, reflect broad industry alignment on licensed spectrum as the foundation for scalable drone operations while revealing some divergence on how flexible that access should be. CTIA argued that existing rules restricting airborne operations in flexible-use commercial wireless bands — including an 800 MHz prohibition on cellular equipment use while airborne — are outdated and impede innovation, and that carrier networks have the coverage and infrastructure to support nationwide drone operations. Nokia, Ericsson, and Qualcomm each echoed the licensed-spectrum argument, with Ericsson urging the FCC to begin by removing the 800 MHz ban and citing advances in massive MIMO antenna systems as enabling better interference management for UAS.
The Commercial Drone Alliance took a broader position, calling for operator flexibility across licensed, unlicensed, and flexible-use bands depending on mission requirements. The group also flagged the downstream consequences of last year’s FCC Covered List expansion to foreign-made drones and components, warning that U.S. operators remain heavily dependent on imported subsystems including flight controllers, sensors, cameras, and batteries. The Covered List exemption window for previously authorized foreign systems expires January 1, 2027.
Multiple utility coalitions — including a joint filing from the Edison Electric Institute, the American Public Power Association, the Large Public Power Council, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association — identified the 5030-5091 MHz band as essential for infrastructure-scale BVLOS operations. The band was approved for drone use in 2024 but final rules remain pending. AUVSI called for deletion of airborne restrictions in the 800 MHz and citizens broadband radio service bands, accelerated 5030-5091 MHz deployment through a federal advisory committee, and streamlined experimental authorizations for UAS developers. The group also flagged that the FCC’s universal licensing system process for non-networked drone ground stations can take months — incompatible, it said, with rapid-deployment scenarios including emergency response and law enforcement. About 90 comments have been filed in the docket so far.
