Licensing of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)

There is growing interest in the use of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) for a wide range of private and commercial applications. These systems cover a wide variety of types referred to as drones, model aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or unmanned aerial systems (UAS). As operational use increases rapidly, the provision of safe access[…]

Understanding barriers to digital connectivity in Cheshire and Warrington

Plum carried out a study supporting the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to assess barriers to connectivity and adoption of digital services in the Cheshire and Warrington area in the North-West of England. The study analysed the availability and reach of digital infrastructure in the region. It also investigated demand-side barriers to take-up[…]

Trust and confidence in digital services

Digital services are already a central feature of our everyday lives. However, we may be just at the start of a journey on which more and more transactions and experiences will migrate from the physical to the digital world. Development of digital services in the coming decade has the potential to deliver innovative use cases[…]

Regulation of Aeronautical Radio System Spectrum Access

Without access to radio spectrum it would be impossible to undertake national and international flights safely. Aeronautical radiocommunications systems are used to support communications, navigation and surveillance applications which range from two-way communications between air traffic control and pilots to on board weather and location radars. These applications make use of various frequency bands allocated[…]

Analysis of the FFT Sender Party Network Pays proposal

In the European Union (EU), representative bodies of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as ETNO (the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association), have recently reopened the debate requesting that Content and Application Providers (CAPs) pay a content levy of sorts for traffic routed to the ISPs’ networks. We describe this as a “Sender Party Network Pays”[…]

Autonomous vessels – can the potential benefits be realised?

Between 80 and 90% of goods worldwide are quoted as being moved by ships, as they can offer economic and efficient long-distance transport. Autonomous vessels provide potential advantages by reducing the impact on the environment, increasing safety, reducing costs, and addressing skills shortages. In 2019 it was estimated the market for autonomous shipping technologies was[…]

Plum Presents: An overview on how to measure and monitor spectrum

For our second webinar “Plum Presents”, Richard Rudd, Director at Plum, has provided a brief, non-technical, overview on how to measure and monitor radio spectrum. A robust understanding of spectrum use, and changes over time is crucially important for spectrum regulators and for the developers of new services. Existing users also require an understanding of[…]

How can MNOs reduce carbon emissions?

With a current worldwide focus on climate change and environmental impacts, the telecommunications sector is being asked to examine how it can reduce its emissions and be more environmentally responsible.  At the same time, the industry is in a unique position of providing solutions to enterprises, individuals and governments worldwide to cut pollution from transport[…]