FCC Has Been Investigating Counter-UAS Companies

One particular way to counter undesirable drones traveling wherever they need to not is by jamming the radio frequencies the drones use for navigation, such as the indicators GPS satellites transmit, or by jamming the frequencies that are applied to control the plane. However, while highly productive, counter-UAS systems that are radio frequency-based mostly have the prospective to cause all kinds of collateral disruption to persons and corporations using these frequencies in every day existence, this sort of as manned aircraft and car or truck navigation methods that depend on GPS, or even issues as straightforward as WiFi.

The Federal Communications Commission regulates the procedure and product sales of these forms of technological know-how. The production, importation, advertising, sale or operation of unlicensed jammers is prohibited in the U.S., with few exceptions.

We found out that the FCC has been sending out Letters of Inquiry (LOI) to counter unmanned aircraft businesses. To day, we have obtained a full of eight of these LOIs. Seven are to business enterprise entities and one to a human being.

The FCC characterizes the LOI as “an order of the Fee to generate the paperwork and information and facts requested herein.”

These investigations have anything to do with “radio communications and the marketing and procedure of radiofrequency gadgets inside of the United States.” The LOIs ask for a laundry list of information and facts and documents from the targets. The LOIs acquired were seriously redacted so as to reduce us from gleaning intel on FCC investigating methods. Nonetheless, we did master the FCC requested the focus on to detect FCC registration figures, trade names of radio frequency devices marketed for sale or lease in the United States, and irrespective of whether intentional radio frequency transmitters had been examined and authorized or not.

The LOIs have very rigorous reaction moments, 30 calendar days, and require really certain affidavits from an licensed company officer verifying the reality and accuracy of the information and facts, condition that all information and facts has been created, and state all files supplied are genuine and exact copies of the primary files. If the corporate officer is relying on others, then people people will also have to file affidavits.

In conclusion, the FCC has taken notice of the manfacturing, promoting, working with, or advertising of radio frequency centered counter drone technologies in the United States.