When you think of the up-and-coming players in the commercial drone market, you might think of Amazon, or Google … but how about AT&T? “ #AT&T is going to be one of the biggest users of drones in the United States,” Art Pregler, who heads AT&T’s drone program and serves as director of national mobility systems, told GeekWire in an interview.
That may sound like a bold statement – but Pregler is just reinforcing what John Donovan, AT&T’s chief strategy officer and president of technology and operations, said last month at the company’s Shape conference in San Francisco.
Long before #Amazon gets its drone delivery fleet in operation in the United States, AT&T will be deploying fleets of robo-fliers across the nation, thanks toregulatory changes that took effect this week.
Because of those changes, AT&T is now able to use unmanned aircraft systems to inspect cellular towers and check cellphone reception in urban areas – including the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium, where the procedure is being demonstrated this week.
The drone inspection routine already has been tested in rural areas, where AT&T workers face less likelihood of coming in contact with the uninvolved public. Repair crews can send a drone flying up to the top of the tower and have it beam back live video to an operations center for review.
The idea is to give the crews a better idea what they’ll be dealing with before they climb up to make repairs. “The results have been very favorable,” said Pregler, who’s based in the Seattle area.
http://www.geekwire.com/2016/att-drone-strategy/
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