T-Mobile Netherlands has claimed a first in Europe with the use of drones to inspect its antenna sites. The mobile operator earlier conducted a trial of the drones around the FC Utrecht stadium. This proved successful, and the company now plans to make drones a structural part of its operations. It's currently training a pilot to control the drones.
T-Mobile said the use of drones saves time and money. Using traditional technicians, the work at the stadium would have taken a week, but the drone completed the task in 15 minutes. Drones are also much safer, the company said. Since the roll-out of 4G and increase in its network footprint, the company also requires more site inspections than previously.
The only limitation of the drones is the regulatory requirements. Each flight requires a permit from the Dutch aviation authority. However, T-Mobile said it was optimistic about the progress at EU level to ease the use of drones.
