On August 29, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and Order (R&O) regarding initial rules for drone operations in the 5 GHz spectrum band.

The FCC is addressing access to the frequency band in phases, with the R&O adopting a new rule part 88 that provides operators the ability to obtain frequency assignment in a portion of the 5030-5091 MHz band for Non-Networked Access (NNA) drone use (ie, non-networked communications). In subsequent phases, the FCC intends to address a band plan for the entire 5030-5091 MHz band, along with rules for network-supported operations.

The R&O rules are limited to NNA, where one or more dynamic frequency management systems (DFMSs) will manage and coordinate access to the spectrum. Because the selection and operation of the DFMSs will take some time to implement, the FCC adopted an interim mechanism to enable NNA operations via a two-step Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)/FCC process.

During this interim period, a 20 MHz block of spectrum will be available for NNA. The interim mechanism will be made available to operators after the R&O becomes effective and the FCC has announced by Public Notice that it will begin accepting registrations. We anticipate that to happen by the end of 2024 or early 2025.

The R&O discusses service rules for NNA operators, DFMS requirements, and compatibility between NNA operations and other services. Among other actions taken, the R&O:

• Adopts an interim mechanism to enable NNA operations in the 5040-5060 MHz, requiring (i) FAA approval of specific location, frequency, and timeframe of desired operations, and (ii) FCC online registration of operator information and associated certifications (¶¶ 24, 133-37)
• Dedicates a single, contiguous block of 10 MHz of spectrum for NNA operations at 5040-5050 MHz, following the interim period (¶¶ 19-20, 23)
• Requires parties seeking to use the NNA spectrum to register with a DFMS to receive temporary assignments of frequencies for a particular geographic area and time period tailored to the operator’s submitted flight plan (¶¶ 72-73)
• Limits the scope of NNA communications to control-and-non-payload communications (¶¶ 25, 32, 33)
• Permits NNA operations to use fixed and mobile ground stations (¶ 36)
• Adopts a license-by-rule licensing framework, where parties using certified FCC-approved stations would only need to obtain the assigned frequency from the DFMSs to have FCC authorization to operate (¶¶ 38, 71)
• Implements technical requirements for transmitter output power, emissions bandwidth, out-of-band emission limits, emission mask, and time division duplexing (¶¶ 52, 54-55, 59)
• Provides numerous DFMS requirements and associated information, including FAA authorizations, permissible requests, prioritization of requests, and frequency assignments (¶¶ 72, 82-113, 125)

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