Frequency Check: Is Your UAS FCC Compliant?

The past decade has seen a rapid increase in the use of unmanned aircraft systems ("UAS") (sometimes, though unusually inaccurately, called "drones"). The integration of UASs into the national airspace continues to be an area of major attention for the FAA and industry proponents. While the FAA naturally plays a crucial role in this process, UASs by definition, are unmanned. As such, it is equally critical that UAS manufacturers ensure compliance with all applicable requirements of the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC), as evidenced by the FCC's recent civil penalty imposed against Lumenier Holdco LLC (f/k/a FPV Manual LLC) ("Lumenier"). Lumenier sold a series of UASs that were marketed purportedly as constituting Amateur Radio equipment. Generally speaking, equipment that is for amateur use is typically exempt from FCC certification requirements. The problem, however, was that many of Lumenier's UASs did not operate on approved frequencies and operated on frequency bands reserved for federal aviation navigation and communication (amongst other unapproved bands). Further, even some of UASs that operated in approved frequencies still used unauthorized transmitters which exceeded the authorized power limit (1 watt) for model aircraft.

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