Follow-Up: FCC Releases Full Text of Drone 800 MHz Order, Adding a Footnote That Names SpaceX's Adjacent-Band Bid
The Federal Communications Commission on October 30 released the full adopted text of its 800 MHz drone order (FCC 26-72). As GSM reported on October 29, the commission voted 3-0 that day to lift an airborne-use restriction dating to 1991 and open 50 megahertz of 800 MHz cellular spectrum to unmanned aircraft. The 19-page adopted text tracks the earlier public draft closely, with one addition the draft did not carry.
The order confirms that the 824-849 MHz and 869-894 MHz bands may be used for drone command and control, communications and payload links. The rules take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, which had not printed the order as of Sunday.
New footnote 29 names SpaceX. It records that the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau approved Grain Management's purchase of T-Mobile's licenses at 817-824 MHz and 862-869 MHz on July 1, and that SpaceX applied on October 9 to take over those licenses, which sit directly beside the drone band. The FCC states in the footnote that it expects drones and SpaceX's planned direct-to-phone service to coexist in the adjacent bands, and that it intends for both bands to be fully utilized. SpaceX was not among the carriers, drone makers or chipmakers cited in the draft; the footnote was added between the draft and the vote.
The text also confirms that drone delivery company Zipline's request for reduced-power operations remains declined. The FCC's next drone spectrum votes are set for November 19, covering 450 MHz control links and 24 GHz drone-detection radar. The order addresses spectrum only: routine beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone flight still awaits the Federal Aviation Administration's Part 108 rule, which faces a statutory deadline of December 7.
Related: FCC Votes to Open 800 MHz Cellular Band to Drones, Ending the 1991 Airborne Ban
Source: GSM · USA
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：四轴航拍无人机飞行中（Josh Sorenson 摄，经 Wikimedia Commons，CC0）。 / A quadcopter camera drone in flight (Photo: Josh Sorenson via Wikimedia Commons, CC0).
