TEOCO's AirborneRF Supports KPN's Connected Drone Service

TEOCO's automated airspace management solution allows KPN to establish safe and efficient UAV drone flight routes supported by the operator's 5G network.

FAIRFAX, VA., April 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- TEOCO, the leading provider of analytics and optimization solutions to over 300 communication service providers (CSPs) worldwide, announces that KPN, a premier provider of communications services in the Netherlands, is utilizing TEOCO's digital airspace management platform, AirborneRF, to support its Drone Connect service, which allows drone operators to connect to KPN's mobile 5G network and select the safest flight route with the best mobile coverage.

The ability to launch drone flights quickly and safely, especially during critical emergencies or disasters, is becoming increasingly important. In addition to providing connectivity for control, data exchange, and 3D mobile coverage maps, KPN is leveraging AirborneRF to provide drone operators with population density data to minimize operational risks for drone flights. By leveraging TEOCO's AirborneRF, KPN can offer drone operators secure and reliable network connectivity with all the critical data in one place to answer questions such as: 'Where and when is it safe to fly?' and, 'Who is flying, and why?'."

"To minimize the ground risk, insight into the population density on the flight route is essential," said Han de Glint, Business Development Manager at KPN. "TEOCO's AirborneRF empowers Drone Connect with the connectivity, analytics, and monitoring capabilities essential to ensuring every drone flight is safe, efficient, and controllable from points A to B – especially beyond visual line of sight." 

"For mobile operators to fully monetize the burgeoning UAV/drone opportunity, they need to be able to offer the aviation industry more than just connectivity services. AirborneRF provides a bridge between the telco and aviation worlds to ensure safe, secure, and reliable drone flights at scale," commented Thomas Neubauer, VP, Business Development, and Innovation at TEOCO.

AirborneRF, TEOCO's Digital Airspace Management platform, ensures drone operators can maintain mobile connectivity for every device within the flight path, which is essential for beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone operations. Bringing together the mobile network operator's radio network with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) airspace control, AirborneRF accurately calculates the safe zones for cellular-controlled drones to operate. It delivers this information to Air Traffic Management (ATM) and UAV Traffic Management (UTM) systems in real-time. By connecting cellular networks with aviation systems, AirborneRF enables safe BVLOS services at scale.

Find out more about AirborneRF, TEOCO's Digital Airspace Management platform.

About KPN

KPN has been the leading provider of telecommunications and IT services in the Netherlands for almost 140 years. Everyone in the Netherlands uses the KPN network on a daily basis, either directly or indirectly, from the high-speed fibre networks in the ground to payment card machines in shops, or the matrix boards above the motorways. KPN continuously invests in rolling out fibre and is at the forefront of the introduction of new technologies such as the 5G mobile network. Every day KPN serves consumers and business customers with services for telephony, data, television, internet-of-things, cloud, workplaces and security. KPN has an open network on which other providers also offer services.
More information is available at m2m.kpn.com