Broadband Breakfast on June 10, 2026 - Drones and the Battle for Airspace

The federal government has moved to push Chinese-made drones off the market, and the broadband industry is sorting through what that means in practice. From tower inspections and network surveys to last-mile mapping and rural coverage verification, drones have become quiet workhorses of broadband deployment. With DJI effectively frozen out of new U.S. sales and the FCC's "American Drone Dominance" proceeding actively seeking comment, operators, contractors, and equipment providers are weighing their options. This session examines what the regulatory shift actually transpires on the ground, whether domestic alternatives are ready to fill the void, and how FCC spectrum proposals, including potential drone access to CBRS and mobile broadband bands, could reshape the economics of aerial infrastructure.

Panelists

• Charles Werner, Director, DRONERESPONDERS
• Jeff DeCoux, President and CEO, ATRIUS Industries
• Steven Philpott, CEO, Nelcielo Mobility Holdings
• Other panelists have been invited
• Drew Clark (moderator), CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Chief Charles L. Werner (Ret.) has served 50 years in public safety. Charles served 37 years with the Charlottesville VA Fire Dept., serving the last ten years as fire chief. Charles has served in numerous leadership roles at the local, state, national and international level. Presently serves as Founder/Director, DRONERESPONDERS. Chief Werner serves on the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) Unmanned Systems Board of Advisors, the Airborne International Response Team Board of Directors, the VIPC Public Safety Innovation Center Advisory Board, the NestGen Advisory Board, a SME on UAS and AAM for MITRE, has a 3 year NASA Space Act Agreement (through DRONERESPONDERS) to work on safety issues in the areas of UAS, UTM, AAM. DRONERESPONDERS also has a 3 year NIST grant to further the expanded use of the NIST Standard Test Lanes to teach and measure public safety maneuvering skills.

Jeffrey DeCoux is a technology founder with over 30 years of experience enhancing business productivity through automation. He's raised over $100 million for venture and business operations, built world-leading Boards of Directors, and funded dozens of patents, including for the foundational enterprise relationship management systems used today. He currently serves as the Founder and Chairman of the Autonomy Institute, a consortium of over 400 organizations from industry, government, and academia. The institute's core focus is accelerating the "Path to Commerce" for intelligent infrastructure and autonomous systems. This work aims to establish Intelligent Infrastructure Economic Zones and is foundational to Industry 4.0 solutions, which include connected autonomous vehicles (CAV), unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and advanced air mobility (AAM). The Autonomy Institute also established Urbanautics, the study and practice of designing and operating massively connected autonomous and intelligent systems for the public good.

Steven Philpott is a UAM operator/integrator and provider of Drone Assisted Public Safety helping stakeholders simplify the introduction of UAM ecosystem into the fabric of local and regional transportation frameworks. Speaker and evangelist of urban air mobility as an economic driver and eco sustainable option for cities. Present work includes development of the 4DTRB, a traffic data standard incorporated into architectural design of vertiports & UAM corridor projects for/by parent company eVertiSky Group. Leads the Chicago UAM Working Groups on Drone Services, Workforce Development and Education and instructs UAM career development courses produced by MySkaut for Chicago Urban League.

Veteran of the United States Marine Corps with decades of experience integrating nascent concepts into the business cycle through strategic development, design, and cybersystem architecture of complex, disruptive technologies.

Breakfast Media LLC CEO Drew Clark has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing tool to collect and verify broadband data left unpublished by the Federal Communications Commission. As CEO and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media community advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.