DT Uses Drone as a Temporary Flying Base Station

For the first time, Deutsche Telekom has used a drone to provide mobile network coverage to customers on a live commercial network. From an altitude of 2.3 kilometers in the sky, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with an integrated mobile base station provided coverage on the slopes at the legendary Jizerská 50 race, part of Ski Classics, in the Jizera Mountains.

DT teamed up with unmanned aviation experts Primoco UAV SE to jointly develop and test the unique solution for temporary mobile coverage. During its first deployment, the drone provided continuous coverage under favorable weather conditions for four hours to an otherwise uncovered six-kilometer stretch of the Jizerská 50 route. This makes DT the first-ever carrier in Europe to deploy this type of flying base station.

“In inaccessible terrain or crises, a flying antenna drone provides resilient connectivity. Wherever it is needed. And very effectively. This approach complements Deutsche Telekom's broad toolbox to reliably provide mobile communications in many scenarios,” said Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology and Innovation at Deutsche Telekom'.