Spectrum Rules and Policies for the Operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems

<RULE> FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION <CFR>47 CFR Parts 0, 1, 2, 87, 88 and 95</CFR> <DEPDOC>[WT Docket No. 22-323; FCC 24-91; FR ID 255475]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Spectrum Rules and Policies for the Operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Federal Communications Commission. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) enables Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) operators to access dedicated spectrum for control-related communications. Specifically, this document adopts service rules under new rule part 88 that provide operators the ability to obtain direct frequency assignments in a portion of the 5030-5091 MHz band for non-networked operation. Under these rules, one or more dynamic frequency management systems (DFMSs) will manage and coordinate access to the spectrum and enable its safe and efficient use, by providing requesting operators with temporary frequency assignments to support UAS control link communications with a level of reliability suitable for operations in controlled airspace and other safety-critical circumstances. To address concerns regarding the impact of these aeronautical operations on adjacent services, this document locates these operations, for now, in the central part of the band, with substantial separation from the bands adjacent to the 5030-5091 MHz band. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> The rules are effective February 7, 2025, except for §§ 88.27, 88.31, 88.33, 88.35, 88.111, 88.113, 88.115, 88.135, 88.137, and 88.141, which are delayed. The Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> announcing the effective date. The incorporation by reference of material listed in § 88.117 is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of February 7, 2025. </EFFDATE> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For additional information on this proceeding, contact Peter Trachtenberg of the Mobility Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at <E T="03">Peter.Trachtenberg@fcc.gov</E> or (202) 418-7369. For information regarding the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) information collection requirements contained in this document, contact Cathy Williams, Office of Managing Director, at (202) 418-2918 or <E T="03">Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> This is a summary of the Commission's <E T="03">Report and Order</E> in WT Docket No. 22-323; FCC 24-91, adopted on August 21, 2024, and released on August 29, 2024. The full text of this document is available for public inspection online at <E T="03">https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-91A1.pdf.</E> To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to <E T="03">fcc504@fcc.gov</E> or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). <HD SOURCE="HD1">Synopsis</HD> Achieving the extraordinary potential of UAS technology will require integrating UAS operations into the National Airspace System (NAS), including in the controlled airspace in which commercial passenger flights operate and in circumstances with heightened risk, such as flights involving large aircraft or carrying passengers or flights beyond line of sight of the remote pilot. To ensure that these flights are sufficiently safe for routine operation, highly reliable wireless two-way communications for flight control and telemetry are required. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WT Docket No. 22-323, FCC 22-101, 88 FR 7910 (February 7, 2023) ( <E T="03">UAS NPRM</E> ), the Commission proposed rules for the 5030-5091 MHz band to help address these spectrum needs. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> In the <E T="03">Report and Order,</E> the Commission now takes an initial step to enable UAS operators to access dedicated spectrum in the 5030-5091 MHz band for control-related communications with the required reliability. Specifically, the Commission adopts new UAS service rules under new rule part 88 that provide operators the ability to obtain direct frequency assignments in a portion of the 5030-5091 MHz band for non-networked operation. The Commission finds wide support for enabling early, direct access to a portion of the band for protected assignments under DFMS coordination, and anticipates that such access will facilitate the safe integration of UAS operations into the NAS so that the United States can realize the enormous potential benefits that UAS operations can provide. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Discussion</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Non-Networked Access (NNA) Service Rules</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD3">1. Definitions and Designation of Sub-Band for NNA Operations</HD> In the <E T="03">UAS NPRM,</E> the Commission proposed to adopt certain band and service rule definitions, including definitions for unmanned aircraft systems and unmanned aircraft, as well as other terms, including non-networked access operations, and control and non-payload communications. Noting consistency with FAA definitions, the Commission proposed to define an unmanned aircraft system as “an unmanned aircraft (UA) and its associated elements (including communication links and the components that control the UA) that are required for the safe and efficient operation of the UA in the airspace of the United States,” and an unmanned aircraft as “an aircraft operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft.” The Commission adopts these definitions as proposed, but finds it in the public interest to revise the terminology. It finds that the term “uncrewed” is more inclusive and could better reflect future use cases for the spectrum, such as uncrewed passenger flights, and thus find that it is appropriate to substitute “uncrewed” in place of “unmanned.” Specifically, it adopts the use of “uncrewed aircraft system” and “uncrewed aircraft” in place of “unmanned aircraft system” and “unmanned aircraft,” respectively. In the <E T="03">UAS NPRM,</E> the Commission also identified two broad use cases for determining the appropriate band plan and service rules: non-networked operations, or those communications occurring within radio line of sight, and network-supported services, which rely on network infrastructure to go beyond radio line of sight of the operator. The Commission proposed establishing the term Non-Networked Access (NNA) to “indicate spectrum or licenses ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> NNA blocks) that would be governed by service rules appropriate to support non-networked communications.” The <E T="03">UAS NPRM</E> further proposed the use of “Network-Supported Services” (NSS) to indicate that the relevant spectrum or licenses would be governed by service rules appropriate to support the provision of networked-based services. The Commission also proposed to use NNA and NSS in the rules to designate the spectrum allocated for non-networked and network-supported use cases, respectively. In the <E T="03">Report and Order,</E> the Commission adopts the NNA and NSS terms as discussed above. <E T="03">NNA Block Configuration.</E> Although the Commission finds that it is premature to establish a permanent band plan in light of continuing developments and evolution of the industry, there is sufficient record support and basis to establish rules to allow early access for non-networked, direct link operations without compromising any future action the Commission may take with respect to UAS operations in the 5030-5091 MHz band. The Commission thus establishes a temporary placement for NNA operation—with a permanent band plan, including final locations for NNA and NSS as well as potential provisions for opportunistic use by NNA users or NSS licensees, to be resolved in the future. Specifically, the Commission allots 10 megahertz for near-term NNA access. The Commission finds that, until it makes a determination regarding a permanent band plan, it is appropriate to locate the 10 megahertz NNA block at 5040-5050 MHz. As discussed below, the Commission is adopting an interim access mechanism (IAM) to enable NNA entities to begin operations in the band during the interim period before a DFMS is operational. Because it will be challenging to effectively manage and coordinate operator use of the NNA spectrum during this period, the Commission will allow access to additional spectrum beyond the 10 megahertz to facilitate the management and deconfliction of NNA operations during this period. Accordingly, during the IAM period, NNA entities may access to 20 megahertz of the band, at 5040-5060 MHz. The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) will announce the dates operators may begin to access the NNA block using the IAM process, as well as the date on which a DFMS becomes operational and the IAM period ends. Once a DFMS becomes operational, the NNA operations will be limited to the 10 megahertz at 5040-5050 MHz. <HD SOURCE="HD3">2. Scope of Permissible Uses</HD> The Commission limits the scope of NNA communications in the 5030-5091 MHz band to Control and Non-payload Communications (CNPC), defined as any transmission that is sent between the UA component and the UAS ground station of the UAS and that supports the safety or regularity of the UA's flight. This approach is in the public interest and is well-supported by the record. <E T="03">Mobile and fixed NNA operations.</E> The Commission provides that the use of both fixed and mobile ground stations for NNA operations is permissible so long as they are not in motion during operation and operations are limited to the location associated with the specific frequency assignment. The adopted ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 146k characters. 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