Drones are currently barred from the 800 MHz cellular band, and on October 29 the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to vote on lifting that bar. Chairman Brendan Carr announced the item on October 7, and reports on the agenda put the opening at about 50 MHz of low-band spectrum already licensed nationwide.
The drone item sits in a three-part wireless package that also includes a 25 MHz mid-band auction and a rewrite of direct-to-device satellite rules.
The airborne restriction in the cellular rules
The barrier is old. FCC Public Notice DA 26-314, released April 1, 2026, states that Part 22 of the commission’s rules currently bars airborne use of Cellular Radiotelephone Service spectrum, which includes the 800 MHz cellular band. In that notice the commission asked whether it should “remove or relax remaining airborne restrictions in bands like 800 MHz Cellular,” and whether rules or best practices are needed to keep many high-speed airborne transmitters from causing in-band interference.
The notice, which drew comments by May 1 and replies by May 18 in GN Docket 26-74, also asked about unlicensed bands, the 5030 to 5091 MHz band that the commission opened for drone use under Part 88 in 2024, and a UAS-specific experimental license. It refreshed a record from a 2023 rulemaking in WT Docket 22-323 whose airborne questions were left unresolved by a 2024 decision.
Carr’s package and the October 29 meeting
Carr announced the items on Wednesday, October 7, according to Broadband Communities, which quotes him tying the package to recent gains: “speeds are up, prices are down, and competition is increasing.” The three items are an auction of 25 MHz of mid-band spectrum, an update of direct-to-device rules to address cellular dead zones, and the lifting of restrictions on drone operations in the 800 MHz band.
Cord Cutters News lists the same drone item on the October 29 open meeting agenda, describing it as removing an old restriction that keeps drones out of the band and opening 50 MHz of low-band spectrum for unmanned aircraft. The package also adds 482 MHz for satellite-to-phone coverage from space, according to that report. The same meeting carries items on test labs and equipment certification, foreign ownership rules for telecom carriers under Section 214, rural broadband oversight and accessibility. The test-lab item would bar recognition of labs and certification bodies from countries without a mutual recognition or comparable reciprocal trade agreement with the United States, with a transition period that runs to December 1, 2028.
Converge Digest describes the drone item as final rules that would eliminate “the aeronautical restriction affecting the 800 MHz Cellular band,” while Cord Cutters News calls the agenda items proposals that commissioners will discuss and vote on, with final rules coming later after comment periods where noted. The two accounts differ on how final the October 29 action is.
Carriers and vendors in the record
The industry case was made in the spring record. According to Inside Unmanned Systems, CTIA, the wireless trade group, called the existing airborne ban outdated and said it hinders innovation, arguing that carrier networks already have the coverage and infrastructure to support nationwide drone operations. Ericsson urged the commission to start by removing the ban, saying advances in massive MIMO antenna systems could improve interference management for drones. AUVSI asked for airborne restrictions to be deleted in the 800 MHz and citizens broadband radio service bands.
Nokia, Ericsson and Qualcomm all backed licensed spectrum as the basis for drone operations. The same report said about 90 comments had been filed in the first round, and the article did not describe other carriers’ interference positions.
The rest of the October 29 spectrum package
Engadget reports that drones are currently barred from the band and that opening it would give unmanned aircraft about 50 MHz. The same Engadget report says the 25 MHz mid-band auction would be for flexible terrestrial networks, direct-to-device operations or a hybrid of both, and that Amazon, which wants to enter satellite-based cellular service, could be interested.
Converge Digest places the 25 MHz in the 1675 to 1695 MHz and 2020 to 2025 MHz bands. The direct-to-device item follows an FCC decision the day before the Engadget report approving SpaceX’s plan for 15,000 satellites operating at 330 kilometers. Reports tie the drone item to the commission’s tighter limits on drones it considers security risks, including those with foreign-made parts or LiDAR.
The vote on October 29 will put the 50 MHz, in a band carriers already use for phones on the ground, at the end of a process that began with DA 26-314 on April 1, ran through the May 1 comments and May 18 replies, and now reaches a commission vote.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
More from Morning Overview
- The NSA says three phone features should be off whenever you aren’t using them
- Hurricane Hunter radar shows four warning signs that a tropical cyclone is about to strengthen, a University of Miami study found
- Tropical Storm Rachel is dumping up to 12 inches on four Mexican states on its way to major hurricane strength
- The FTC says Lens.com doubled the price shoppers saw in Google ads
