Cellular On Wings (drones)

• Drones in telecom

2018: Use of drones by operators to deploy communications after natural disasters

In late June 2018, it became known that Verizon, as well as rival company AT&T, began using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to restore communication after natural disasters.

For these purposes, according to CNBC, Verizon is testing in New Jersey (USA) an almost 91-kilogram drone with a gasoline engine. It serves as a base station, providing LTE communication services within a radius of one mile (1.6 km).

According to Verizon Vice President Michael Haberman, rapid deployment of communication is very important for emergencies. Users, being in the disaster zone with a restored cellular connection, can call rescuers and help them determine their location, he said.

Hurricane Maria, which hit the U.S. in the fall of 2017 and killed 93 people, shut down about 90% of Puerto Rico's cell towers, according to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

AT&T's Cellular On Wings Cell Recovery Drone

Shortly after the incident, the FCC allowed AT&T to use the Cellular On Wings drone to reconnect not only its customers, but also subscribers of other mobile operators in Puerto Rico. AT&T notes that the company is developing an operating model involving the provision of drones as a service.

The operator began providing Cellular On Wings to firefighters to use UAVs for rescue operations.

As for Verizon drones, by the end of June they are at the testing stage, but the company expects to begin to fully use them in the context of natural disasters by the end of 2018.

American cell companies are not the only ones using drones to provide telecommunications services. Thus, the South Korean KT Corporation launched an airship into the sky, on which a 5G network was deployed to organize communication in places of natural disasters.^[1]

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