AT&T flies drones in Texas to inspect cell towers

AT&T is deploying a fleet of 25 drones to areas in Southeast Texas to inspect cell towers to determine the hurricane's impact on its network.

AT&T said the drones can inspect areas that are still unreachable by cars or trucks because of flooding.

The company is also deploying two Satellite Cell on Wheels (Sat COLTs) in Beaumont, Texas and will stage 12 more in the area to support customers and first responders following the second landfall of Tropical Storm Harvey.

http://about.att.com/newsroom/hurricane_harvey_drones.html

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Intel Sends Swarm of 300 Shooting Star Drones to Super Bowl

During the Super Bowl Halftime Show, three hundred Intel Shooting Star drones performed a choreographed aerial show. The sequence, which was pre-recorded, was the first time drones were used to complement an entertainment act at this scale.

All 300 drones were be controlled by one computer and one drone pilot. The FAA granted special permission for the fleet to fly up to 700 feet. Intel also received an additional special waiver to fly
the drones in the more restrictive class B airspace.

Intel said its software automated "the animation creation process by using a reference image, quickly calculating the number of drones needed, determining where drones should be placed, and formulating the fastest path to create the image in the sky.

https://newsroom.intel.com/news-releases/intel-drones-light-lady-gaga-performance-pepsi-zero-sugar-super-bowl-li-halftime/

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Verizon Sets Path for Airborne LTE Operations

Verizon outlined its Airborne LTE Operations (ALO) initiative, which aims to drive innovation and wide-spread adoption for in-flight wireless connectivity .

The plan includes:

• The successful completion of technical trials in various locations across the country using a combination of unmanned and manned aircraft on Verizon’s 4G LTE network.
• An early adopter simulation exercise in Cape May, New Jersey using unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) to demonstrate how Verizon’s 4G LTE network can help first responders and emergency management personnel enhance disaster recovery efforts.
• The launch of a new suite of services as early as 2017 on Verizon’s ThingSpace IoT platform to help developers and businesses create and manage a wide-range of ALO-enabled applications simply backed by secure cloud and analytics capabilities.
• A new device certification process, now available, that sets forth requirements to enable access to wireless connectivity for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) on Verizon’s 4G LTE network.
• Collaboration with innovative partners such as American Aerospace (AATI) and Sierra Wireless to pave the way for aerial long-range applications beyond line of sight.
• Air: the next frontier for the IoT

Verizon said its network team began work to develop the technology for in-flight LTE operations in 2014 and throughout 2015.

Earlier this year, the team engaged with American Aerospace Technologies Inc. (AATI) to test connectivity between aerial platforms and the Verizon 4G LTE network. The initial controlled trial was conducted with a 17-foot wingspan unmanned aircraft system in conjunction with AATI. The aerial platform tested advanced aerial inspection techniques that can be applied not just to the hundreds of miles of pipeline in rural Virginia, but also nationwide while connecting to Verizon’s 4G LTE network. As a result of the successful trial, Verizon deemed its 4G LTE 700 MHz network safe for in-flight wireless connectivity, which led to the creation of device and service requirements as part of Verizon’s ALO initiative.

Together with AATI, Verizon is also exploring next steps in in-flight cellular services for UAVs nationally on its 4G LTE network. Once federal regulations allow UAV operation beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), new tests will focus on BVLOS command-and-control cellular network communications for long-distance UAVs.

“This latest trial demonstrated how emerging technology combined with wireless networks can improve safety and security,” said Mike Haberman, vice president, Network Operations, Verizon. “A nationwide reliable 4G LTE network is the foundation for the future of mobile IoT in the air.”

http://www.verizon.com/about/news/air-next-frontier-internet-things

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AT&T and Qualcomm Put LTE on Drones

Qualcomm and AT&T will test Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or drones, on commercial 4G LTE networks and upcoming 5G networks.

The UAS trials, which begin later this month at Qualcomm's San Diego campus, will be based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight, which offers high fidelity sensor processing, precise localization, autonomous visual navigation and 4K videography.

The team will look at coverage, signal, strength and mobility across network cells and how they function in flight. The goal of the trials and ongoing research is to help enable future drone operations, such as Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), as regulations evolve to permit them. The ability to fly beyond an operator’s visual range could enable successful delivery, remote inspection and exploration. Wireless technology can bring many advantages to drones such as ubiquitous coverage, high-speed mobile support, robust security, high reliability and quality of service (QoS).

“The trial with a carrier with the reach and technology of AT&T is a significant step in the development of connectivity technologies for small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS), including optimization of LTE networks and advancement of 5G technology for drones,” said Matt Grob, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Not only do we aim to analyze wide-scalable LTE optimization for safe, legal commercial SUAS use cases with beyond line-of-sight connectivity, but the results can help inform positive developments in drone regulations and 5G specifications as they pertain to wide-scale deployment of numerous drone use cases.”

"Many of the anticipated benefits of drones, including delivery, inspections and search and rescue will require a highly secure and reliable connection," said Chris Penrose, senior vice president, IoT Solutions, AT&T. “With a focus on both regulatory and commercial needs, LTE connectivity has the potential to deliver optimal flight plans, transmit flight clearances, track drone location and adjust flight routes in near real-time. Solving for the connectivity challenges of complex flight operations is an essential first step to enabling how drones will work in the future.”

http://about.att.com/story/qualcomm_and_att_to_trial_drones_on_cellular_network.html
http://www.qualcomm.com

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Ericsson and China Mobile Test Drones for Handovers

Ericsson and China Mobile are testing a 5G-enabled drone prototype for handovers across multiple sites.

A field trial has been conducted using China Mobile's network in Wuxi, Jiangsu province between sites that were simultaneously in use by commercial mobile phone users.

Ericsson said potential use cases for this technology include mission-critical applications such as support for emergency services. The project aims is to optimize latency for mission-critical use cases, by dynamically deploying part of a network through distributed cloud close to the radio edge. The drone trial is therefore an important step toward 5G networks in which part of a network can be distributed and dynamically deployed at the cellular edge in order to reduce end-to-end latency, and to serve a range of 5G use cases at the same time.

“With commercial implementation expected from 2020, Ericsson’s 5G research is coming out of the labs and into live test networks. We see tremendous opportunities in 5G, and we are mobilizing the ecosystem and collaborating with industry leaders such as China Mobile to help make 5G a reality,” stated Chris Houghton, Head of Region Northeast Asia, Ericsson.

https://www.ericsson.com/news/160812-ericsson-and-china-mobile-worlds-first-5g-drone_244039854_c

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Video: Christie Pitts on Turning Start-ups into Strategic Assets at Verizon Ventures

Christie Pitts, Venture Development Manager at Verizon Ventures, highlights some of hot tech areas with adjacencies to Verizon's core businesses.

Think drones, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and 5G. Verizon Ventures also runs a #BuiltByGirls fund to encourage female entrepreneurs.

See video: https://youtu.be/CDKM643TmW0

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Nokia Networks Tests Drones for Network Inspections

Nokia Network is testing unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) carrying smartphones with cameras and testing applications to inspect and survey mobile infrastructure.

Nokia recently conducted a test of these telco drones in partnership with Du at the Dubai International Stadium, Dubai Sports City, which has a seating capacity of 25,000 people. The Proof of Concept (PoC) gathered network data and provided Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for a speedy performance test and efficient network optimization actions. Telco drones were also used for tower inspections, radio planning and Line of Sight (LoS) testing between radio towers.

Automated testing and analysis is more efficient than traditional manual walk tests, as drones can cover the desired area quicker. Additionally, the test data is collected automatically and sent to a server so that it can be instantly processed at Nokia Networks’ Global Delivery Center (GDC) for immediate reporting and any necessary actions to improve network performance.

Telco drones were also used for tower inspections to reduce the number of times technicians need to climb up and down a telecom tower, as well as for radio planning and Line of Sight (LoS) testing. The engineers knew if a frequency used was impacted by trees, if there was sufficient power to cover the distance, what the simulated latency would look like and what performance over such a connection could be expected. This helped achieve optimal site design, establish a clear LoS, as well as suitable antenna height and site location.

http://networks.nokia.com/news-events/press-room/press-releases/nokia-networks-du-first-in-uae-to-use-telco-drones-for-better-network-planning-faster-opti

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