Qualcomm has released a 65-page detailed technical Trial Report on “LTE Unmanned Aircraft Systems”. Their insights are based on around 1,000 flights as well as additional simulations over a period of several months. Some key insights from the report:
- The analysis supports the viability of 4G LTE commercial mobile networks for drones operating beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) at 400 feet above ground level (AGL) and below.
- The field trial demonstrated that LTE networks can support safe drone operation in real-world environments.
- Very strong signal availability at higher altitudes: Received signal strengths for LTE drones at altitude are very strong despite downtilted antennas in the network. In fact, signal strengths are statistically and significantly stronger for drones at altitude than for mobile devices on the ground (“ground mobile devices”) because the free space propagation conditions at altitude more than make up for antenna gain reduction.
The full report can be found here.
Source: Press Release