AT&T, Inc. and Intel Corp. have teamed up to test technologies for drones that will allow them to communicate over the 4G LTE network.

The announcement, made at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Monday, detailed that the utilization of the 4G network would not only allow drones to fly further than they are currently able to, but would also allow them to operate at higher altitudes and support services such as live video streaming and flight information.

Current consumer-level drones (as opposed to military ones) rely on technologies such as radio waves, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to communicate with a controller, meaning they have limited ranges that are usually restricted to line of sight, and can also be subject to interference.

AT&T said in a statement that connecting drones over their network may help address challenges including safety and security concerns, real time communications, potential interference with manned aircraft and supporting future capabilities (such as beyond line of sight), as they are approved by the FAA.

“AT&T and Intel will be testing how the network can enable the most exciting business use cases for drones,” AT&T Senior Vice President, IoT Solutions Chris Penrose explained. “Our LTE network is uniquely positioned to connect industries like delivery, agriculture, construction and insurance. We’re using the network to transfer important information, images and video quickly and efficiently — far beyond the boundaries of short range connectivity.”

Building the future

Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAVs) are currently heavily restricted by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including a ban on long distance flights, so while the plan is an exciting one in terms of what it could potentially achieve, particularly in terms of commercial applications, they won’t be flying anywhere too far yet.

The play by Intel and AT&T is literally a case of building the future, and if they can prove it works (and there’s some sort of safety system built in to prevent accidents), there’s no reason why the FAA may not revisit those restrictions one day. Safety, in this case, would clearly be the most obvious concern for AT&T: what happens when the drone enters an area with no coverage?

If you happen to be in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, Intel has set up an “Intel Drone Zone” to demonstrate its current test drone technology that utilizes AT&T’s 4G LTE wireless network.

Image credit: Intel Corp/ provided.