Vodafone Spain : First flight of 5G drone in 700 MHz band

Vodafone spain, in partnership with CATEC, has made the very first trip of a 5G drone in the frequency of 700Mhz in the ATLAS center situated in the district of Villacarrillo (Jaén) making use of the coverage of the 5G node that has been switched on for this purpose.

This use case is part of the project “5G Andalusian Pilot” Promoted by the Ministry of Economic Climate and Company, covering a total 32 5G use cases.

The trial comes after Vodafone have obtained 2x10MHz blocks of spectrum in July’s public auction of 5G-compatible frequencies.

The drone, equipped with a Data SIM, has actually made a flight beyond the line of view at low altitude, managed at all times and also monitored remotely with the operator’s fifth-generation network. The device incorporates protocol-based software for unmanned air traffic management and allows remote operation via the 700 MHz 5G band and the transmission of high quality pictures in real time demonstrating that 5G innovation is a Basic enabler for long-distance drone operations, in both Urban and Rural Areas.