In the latest development in the commercial drone revolution,  Verizon Wireless has announced it will partner with drone manufacturers to connect UAVs to their network.  Plans start at 1 GB data for $25 per month and scale up to 10 GB for $80 per month.

As most of the commercial available drones rely on radio frequency transmitters with limited range, this could open up a new world of opportunity for long range remote applications.  While the current regulations outlined in part 107 require visual line of sight during operations, this is in not a un-waiverable regulation.   This is certainly big news for oil companies and electric companies that stand to benefit greatly from remote inspections.

In alignment with Verizon’s investment into the Internet of Things, the company also plans to add drone capabilities to its platform called ThingSpace.  The company envisions the transmission of real time data by drones as a game changer for many industries.