The Communications Authority launched on Monday a new frequency license for drone communications to support the development of Hong Kong’s low-altitude economy.

Under the Unmanned Aircraft System (Private) Licence regime, licensees will be assigned with the 1430 – 1444 MHz band (1.4 GHz band) as the dedicated spectrum for establishing, maintaining and operating radiocommunications installation for UAS operations, said a spokesperson for CA.

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“It offers an additional communications solution to UAS operators beyond the current use of wireless local area networks and 4G or 5G mobile network for data transmission and control, enhancing support for the safe and efficient operation of UAS and fully supporting the development of the LAE ecosystem in terms of communications networks," the spokesperson said.

The UAS (Private) Licence is open for application to organizations participating in the Low Altitude Economy Regulatory Sandbox pilot projects.

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Those interested can submit their application to CA and include information on the UAS they operate, the approval from the Civil Aviation Department on specific flight paths and details of the radio base stations to be installed.

CA said it will rigorously review the applications and closely monitor the use of the dedicated UAS spectrum to ensure compliance with license conditions and effective utilization of spectrum resources.