T-Mobile Drones On

Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile unit in the Netherlands began using drones for antenna inspection on Tuesday. The company is the first European operator to do so, and plans to use the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to inspect 5,000 antennas in the Netherlands from mid-July. According to Jeffrey Leentjes, T-Mobile network specialist, with the use of a drone it will only take around 15 minutes to completely photograph the special stadium antennas and antenna masts. Traditionally, it would take a cherry picker a week to do the same job. Each drone will be equipped with an HD camera equipped with heat sensors and transmitters to provide real-time analysis of the data.  According to SNL Kagan, at the moment, every drone flight requires prior permission from the aviation authority in the Netherlands.