More than a decade after Jeff Bezos first teased drone package delivery as a not-so-far-off reality, Amazon is continuing to take steps to carve out its own vision for bringing such a service to the masses.
The latest small step: Right before the new year, Amazon's Prime Air division filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to gain two-year access to a radar frequency band not currently used by drone operators.
Prime Air, the application read, "is interested in testing the performance of radars operating the 9.3-9.5 GHz band to monitor the air traffic around Amazon facilities and drone operating areas. The proposed tests will support Prime Air to develop standards and technology for an air traffic control system around company perimeters and drone operating areas to ensure safe flying environments."
The US Coast Guard, NASA, and other federal agencies utilize this frequency band for use cases ranging from identifying distressed vessels, to weather-tracking radar systems, to avian detection.
Amazon spokesperson Av Zammit told Fortune that the application is part of Prime Air's R&D efforts pertaining to drone air-traffic control systems controlled from the ground. He said the locations identified in the application — one in Seattle, and another in Pendleton, Oregon — don't refer to places where Amazon has plans to soon begin drone delivery operations for customers. They are locations where the company tests its drone and radar technologies. Drone testing at the Seattle location takes place within caged enclosures, while the Oregon location entails testing in open space.
The spokesperson said the application is similar to Amazon's previous petition to the FCC to operate in the 60 GHz wireless band to help R&D efforts to build collision-detection systems onboard drones. After successful experimentation, the FCC then opened up that band to the wider drone industry.
Amazon began same-day drone deliveries in the US in 2022, starting in College Station, Texas, before expanding to the Phoenix, Arizona metro area in 2024. Items five pounds or less can be delivered by drone to eligible homes in these areas. Walmart also makes drone deliveries in some US markets like Dallas-Forth Worth in partnership with drone companies Wing, Zipline, and DroneUp.
Amazon already utilizes an air traffic management system and onboard navigation technology for those drone operations, Zammit said, but the FCC application represents part of the company's R&D efforts to evaluate and experiment with new concepts.
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