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Uber Partners With AT&T for 4G & 5G Connectivity for Air Taxis & Cargo DronesUber Partners With AT&T for 4G & 5G Connectivity for Air Taxis & Cargo Drones

AT&T enters into a multi-stage deal with Uber on air taxi and drone testing with 4G and 5G.

Dan Jones

June 12, 2019

2 Min Read
Uber Partners With AT&T for 4G & 5G Connectivity for Air Taxis & Cargo Drones

AT&T and Uber are working on LTE -- and eventually 5G -- connectivity for vertical take-off and landing taxis (eVTOLs) and cargo drones.

The multi-stage deal was announced at Uber's yearly Elevate Summit in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

AT&T is already working with Uber to test drone delivery in San Diego. Its networks will also be used to support the launch of Uber Copter, a high-end helicopter service that's launching in New York City in July.

"We’re in the very earliest stages of seeing what 5G can do to augment next-generation air travel, but we're excited for the possibilities," said Andre Fuetsch, president and chief technology officer of AT&T Labs, in a statement. "Ridesharing services were one of the defining mobile applications of the 4G era. Air taxis and other new air vehicles could well eventually become a signature use case for 5G."

AT&T has so far launched 5G in limited areas of 19 US cities using millimeter-wave spectrum. More relevantly for air transportation needs, AT&T intends to launch "sub 6GHz" 5G in the US in 2020, probably using 700MHz frequencies. This will make longer range connections much more viable. Related posts: AT&T's New Nationwide, Mobile 5G Timeline Tower Trouble: AT&T Keeps Pushing Cell Tower Landlords to Reduce Rent In Nationwide 5G, It Will Be AT&T's 700MHz vs. T-Mobile's 600MHz AT&T Taking Broadband Nationwide in 3-5 Years via Fiber & 5G — Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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