Vodafone UK is calling for commercial and public sector drones to be fitted with SIM cards to give them cellular network connectivity.
This would help reduce illegal and irresponsible drone use, the company argues, the like of which closed Gatwick Airport in December 2018 and which has caused many potentially catastrophic “near miss” incidents with passenger aircraft.
Ensuring drones were fitted with SIM cards would enable them to be flown beyond “visual line of sight” of their operators, the report argues, and for their true potential to be realised. Currently, drone pilots must keep their drones within sight at all times.
Cellular connection would also facilitate a necessary Unmanned Traffic Management system to monitor drone identity, location and flight plan authorisation, as well as enable dynamic no-fly zones, Vodafone argues.
Its Radio Positioning System, developed in 2018, would police such zones and prevent drones from entering them.
The network commissioned a report, written by WPI Economics, in which it calls for the government to:
- establish a “blue light” drones fund to enable emergency services and NHS trusts to trial drones for new purposes
- establish further testing facilities for UTM systems and Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations
- explore how cellular connectivity could facilitate UTM systems, dynamic no-fly zones and electronic detectability.
The full report can be downloaded here.
Source: Press Release
Oh and also make every one of hundred million drones out there out of date at the minimum and probably illegal to fly. Wow, not hard to see where the money trace goes here.
And who’s network would those sim cards be tied to? hmmmmmm….
It would not reduce illegal flights, it would increase them ten fold. Because all drones availble today would be illegal to fly, so the law abiding would see no benifit, and sell them off as nothing more htan scrap prices where the Non-law abiding can take advantage of a huge market of cheap drones formally licensed to others!!
Kinda like stealing a car to commit a drive by.
Vodafone UK is calling for commercial and public sector drones to be fitted with SIM cards to give them cellular network connectivity.
This would help reduce illegal and irresponsible drone use, the company argues, the like of which closed Gatwick Airport in December 2018 and which has caused many potentially catastrophic “near miss” incidents with passenger aircraft.
I call BS here, the drones who caused the issues that freaked out Gatwick, were NOT commercial or Public Sector drones which are flown by companies and agencies with due regard for safety.
Funny how they just happen to have some anti drone technology they want to sell in the article too….