Transforming the drone industry: the sky's the limit

From the first telephone call to the email revolution and the rise of streaming services, BT has been redefining the meaning of connectivity for decades.

A significant part of our mission at Etc. (BT Group’s startup incubation hub) is looking beyond traditional connectivity solutions to find new, innovative ways to transform society for the better. But when it comes to improving people’s lives, drones might not be the first solution that comes to mind. 

So, why are they such a big focus for us? The answer is simple: with a sophisticated drone network, we believe that we can unlock the skies for long-range flights. This brings the ability to transform emergency services, increasing the speed of urgent supplies of blood, medicines, and even organ donations. It also creates opportunities to proactively maintain critical infrastructure, helping organisations to stay up-and-running for longer and reducing disruption to people’s lives. For example, drones can routinely scan railway tracks for damage; any issues can then be shared with engineers, who can fix issues before they negatively impact consumers. 

In an industry forecast to be worth £45bn by 2030, according to PwC’s Skies Without Limits report, drones offer an enormous opportunity for us to continue connecting people now and transforming essential services in the future. And if we are able to address current infrastructure limitations and enable drones to fly beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of an operator at scale, that future could become a reality even sooner. 

But what does this have to do with a business like BT,  known for its mobile and broadband services? Well, anyone familiar with BT today will know that we're committed to accelerating transformative digital solutions and also that our heritage gives us a unique opportunity to do so. Getting the infrastructure right for autonomous flying vehicles to operate safely and efficiently is crucial for the future success of the drone industry.  Much of this infrastructure relies on secure and reliable connectivity, so it requires data and network services that are protected from external interference and operate at superfast speeds, whether that be on the ground and now in the air.

To do this, we have to ensure that our network operates well at altitude and doesn't impact negatively on other networks. As soon as drones begin to operate further away from pilots - or even become autonomous - there will be a need for enhanced security, data services, network support and physical infrastructure.

Industry peers, such as Droniq in Germany, Swisscom in Switzerland and Telus in Canada, are helping to support growth of the drone sector internationally. Here in the UK, Etc. has entered into a £5 million deal with Altitude Angel, a world-leading UTM (Unified Traffic Management) technology provider, to scale our drone industry and support the development of a drone superhighway, set to be the largest and longest network of its kind in the world.

Under the deal, BT Group will provide its connectivity, network infrastructure and scalability experience to deploy and maintain Altitude Angel’s ARROW tower network, which detects and identifies drones, while also enabling them to safely share the airspace with crewed aviation. BT Group will be the key reseller of Altitude Angel’s software, and will provide commercial support for drone deliveries in retail and automated, smart drone inspections of critical infrastructure. This leading technology will facilitate smart city development and provide enhanced capabilities for emergency services and the defence community.

As the industry scales from region-specific BVLOS trials and demonstrations to country-wide commercial operations, we will act as a trusted partner to help launch pioneering drone technology into the mainstream UK economy. 

We’ve been connecting people to build a stronger economy since 1846. And we believe opening the skies will help us reach exciting new highs with our customers and partners.