The Federal Communications Commission has voted unanimously to let drones fly using the 800 MHz cellular band, lifting a 35-year-old restriction that kept unmanned aircraft out of that spectrum. The commission adopted the order, numbered FCC 26-72, on October 30, 2026, following a 3-0 vote on October 29. It opens close to 50 megahertz of low-band spectrum across the 824-849 MHz and 869-894 MHz ranges to airborne operations for the first time.
The rule takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, so operators will not get access immediately. The vote marks the second time in roughly a year that the FCC has opened cellular spectrum to drones, following an earlier order covering a separate 50 MHz band used mainly for cellular-connected flight beyond visual line of sight.
Why was drone access to 800 MHz banned in the first place?
The restriction dates to the early buildout of cellular networks, when regulators worried that aircraft flying at altitude could pick up signals from dozens of ground towers at once and interfere with network capacity. That concern applied to passenger jets cruising at 30,000 feet. It applies far less to a delivery or public-safety drone flying a few hundred feet above a single neighborhood, which is the case drone operators and wireless carriers have pressed on the FCC for several years.
What does the SpaceX footnote in the order actually do?
The final text includes footnote 29, which names SpaceX's pending application, filed October 9, to acquire roughly $8 billion worth of T-Mobile spectrum licenses in adjacent bands for its Starlink Mobile direct-to-device service. The footnote states the commission intends for both the newly opened drone band and SpaceX's spectrum to be fully utilized without interference, effectively setting coexistence expectations before SpaceX's application has even cleared review. It is an unusual move: the FCC is typically reactive once a license transfer is approved, not preemptive during the review itself.
Who benefits first from the new rule?
First responders are an explicit focus. Commissioner Olivia Trusty cited a St. Paul police department rescue operation in her remarks supporting the order, pointing to search-and-rescue and emergency-response drone flights as an immediate use case once carriers and drone makers build 800 MHz radios into their hardware. North Carolina-based drone maker Dracoe told FCC Chairman Brendan Carr the company traces its existence to the administration's broader push for domestic drone manufacturing, suggesting hardware makers are already positioning for the new spectrum rather than waiting for the Federal Register deadline to pass.
What happens next for drone spectrum policy?
The FCC is not done. Commissioners are scheduled to vote on November 19 to open two more drone-relevant bands, at 450 MHz and 24 GHz, continuing a piecemeal expansion of airborne spectrum access rather than a single comprehensive rulemaking. For the drone industry, each opened band means another frequency option for beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights that currently rely on a patchwork of cellular and proprietary radio links. For carriers, the 800 MHz order is also a signal that the commission plans to manage drone and satellite-to-phone spectrum demands in parallel rather than picking one over the other, as the SpaceX footnote illustrates.