• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechGlobal 500

Facebook Preps to Fly Drones Above Its Home Base

Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 12, 2016, 2:00 PM ET
Inside The F8 Facebook Developers Conference
Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive officer of Facebook Inc., views a drone flying while speaking at the Facebook F8 Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. Zuckerberg outlined a 10-year plan to alter the way people interact with each other and the brands that keep advertising dollars rolling at the world's largest social network. Photographer: Michael Short/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Michael Short—Bloomberg via Getty Images

Facebook is preparing to fly drones above its headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.

The tech giant recently requested a “special temporary authority” from the Federal Communications Commission, the government agency that handles radio spectrum licensing, to broadcast wireless networking waves at a frequency of 27.95 to 28.05 gigahertz in the surrounding area. The reason? To test telecom tech via unmanned aerial vehicles in the air over its offices between this month and April 1st of next year.

Aside from a sparse set of technical specifications, the company released few details about the short-term trial in its public filings, first spotted by Business Insider.

“The purpose of this operation is to test potential new communications applications and equipment in a controlled, low-altitude airborne environment,” the company’s drone division, FCL Tech, wrote in an FCC application, citing Mark Johnson, Facebook’s deputy general counsel, as a point of contact.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Many of the particulars, such as the maker of the “transmitter unit,” are either not listed or marked as “confidential.” What we do know is that Facebook (FB) requested to fly an experimental “mobile station,” in this case a small aircraft mounted with an antenna at an altitude as high as 400 feet within a 5-kilometer radius of a point right outside its main campus.

A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment on the record about the program.

For more on Facebook drones, watch:

“Disclosure of this information would disadvantage FCL’s competitiveness with regard to its communications services,” the company explained in an earlier note to the FCC requesting privacy on certain items, such as the “vendors of its equipment” and other “information about its test plan.” A document lists Ray Blasing, a program manager at Facebook’s Connectivity Lab, a unit that explores networking tech, as its “stop buzzer contact,” or person who can pull the plug if ordered to do so.

Here are the boundaries of the test drone’s proposed flight area.

fb-drone-map

The project appears to be unrelated to “Aquila,” the company’s Boeing 747-sized, solar-powered, Internet-beaming drone behemoth (BA). Facebook has been testing that aircraft in Arizona with the intention of using it to distribute affordable wireless connectivity around the globe as part of its ambitious Internet.org partnership.

Facebook (FB) has been duking it out with other tech firms, like Google (GOOG), to provide the Internet access for the far reaches of the world, a move that could land them large swaths of untapped customers for their products.

About the Author
Robert Hackett
By Robert Hackett
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Big TechAmerican Politics
Your spend as a ‘weapon’: Scott Galloway’s ‘Resist and Unsubscribe’ movement asks you to ditch Amazon, Apple, and Netflix to oppose Trump
By Kristin StollerFebruary 28, 2026
3 hours ago
world's fair
CommentaryRobots
Something big is happening in AI, but panic is the wrong reaction
By Peter CappelliFebruary 28, 2026
4 hours ago
AIMarkets
The week the AI scare turned real and America realized maybe it isn’t ready for what’s coming
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 28, 2026
5 hours ago
AIFinance
She joined Block to build AI. Weeks later, AI cost her job.
By Sheryl EstradaFebruary 28, 2026
5 hours ago
Form Energy CEO Mateo Jaramillo is pictured at Form Factory 1 in Weirton, West Virginia.
Energybatteries
Google is building a bevy of renewable energy in Minnesota—including the world’s largest battery system providing power for a whopping 100 hours
By Jordan BlumFebruary 28, 2026
7 hours ago
sam altman
AIOpenAI
OpenAI strikes a deal with the Pentagon just hours after Trump orders the end of Anthropic contracts, and hours after a staff all-hands
By Sharon GoldmanFebruary 27, 2026
17 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
Japanese companies are paying older workers to sit by a window and do nothing—while Western CEOs demand super-AI productivity just to keep your job
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 27, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Walmart exec says U.S. workforces needs to take inspiration from China where ‘5 year-olds are learning DeepSeek’
By Preston ForeFebruary 27, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Commentary
'The Pitt': a masterclass display of DEI in action 
By Robert RabenFebruary 26, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Law
China's government intervenes to show Michigan scientists were carrying worms, not biological materials
By Ed White and The Associated PressFebruary 26, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Innovation
An MIT roboticist who cofounded bankrupt robot vacuum maker iRobot says Elon Musk’s vision of humanoid robot assistants is ‘pure fantasy thinking’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezFebruary 25, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Come 2030, the U.S. deficit will be worth 5.9% of GDP—more than spending on Social Security, and equal to major health programs
By Eleanor PringleFebruary 26, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.