GSMA Unites Global Aviation, Government, and Telecoms Leaders to Shape the Future of Drone Airspace Safety

GSMA has announced a first-of-its-kind industry initiative bringing together leaders from the telecoms, aviation, security, and drone operations sectors to lay the groundwork for a safer drone airspace ecosystem.

Joint Requirements Statement (JRS) Officially Released

The Joint Requirements Statement (JRS), developed under the GSMA Fusion programme, sets out how mobile networks and programmable network capabilities can support safe, trusted, and scalable drone operations as the market continues to expand. Electronic Conspicuity (EC) plays a central role in this framework.

Initial contributors and signatories include: the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), BCN Drone Center, Dimetor, Ericsson, Invicsa, NextNav, Nokia, Shabodi, and Viasat.

Electronic Conspicuity: A Critical Technology for Airspace Safety

Electronic Conspicuity (EC) refers to the ability of an aircraft or drone to be electronically identified and located by other airspace users and competent authorities. It enables real-time sharing of position, altitude, heading, speed, and identity information, significantly enhancing airspace situational awareness and flight safety.

Why Action Is Urgent Now

The JRS document highlights that the need for industry coordination is growing increasingly pressing as governments, regulators, and aviation authorities around the world accelerate work in the following areas:

• Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations
• Drone First Responder programmes
• Autonomous aviation systems
• Future passenger eVTOL aircraft

Signatories warn that without early coordination, fragmented and siloed national approaches to drone visibility, identity, and connectivity could become deeply entrenched before any globally interoperable framework is established.

The Strategic Role of Mobile Networks

In the JRS, the participating organisations outline how mobile networks can move beyond serving as simple connectivity providers to play a strategic role in trusted low-altitude aviation through the following capabilities:

• Trusted identity verification and authentication
• Secure positioning and geolocation
• Real-time telemetry assurance
• Priority connectivity for safety-critical operations
• Auditable network-supported data streams
• Cross-border interoperability
• Scalable support for high-density drone operations
• Resilient multi-layered connectivity via terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), helping to maintain operational continuity beyond the range of traditional coverage

The organisations also highlight the role of programmable network capabilities and APIs — including the GSMA Open Gateway and CAMARA-aligned frameworks — in supporting future aviation safety, security, and operational efficiency requirements. NTN is identified as an increasingly important resilience layer for future drone operations, particularly in remote, maritime, disaster recovery, and national security scenarios where terrestrial-only coverage may be insufficient.

Industry Leaders Speak Out

Barney Stinton, Head of Aviation Market Development at GSMA Fusion, said: "The drone market is growing faster than many of today's airspace and identity frameworks were originally designed to handle. This Joint Requirements Statement is an important signal from industry that mobile networks will play a pivotal role in supporting safe, trusted, and interoperable drone operations at scale."

He added: "Our goal is not to replace existing aviation systems, but to bring aviation, government, and telecoms together early — to help build a globally scalable foundation before national approaches diverge too far."

Next Steps

The contributing organisations believe that the combination of mobile connectivity, network intelligence, NTN evolution, and programmable APIs presents a significant opportunity to support the future development of low-altitude airspace management, public safety operations, critical infrastructure inspection, and commercial drone services.

The organisations are calling for deeper engagement from mobile network operators, regulators, aviation stakeholders, and national governments to ensure that telecoms capabilities are factored into future airspace and drone policymaking.

Industry members participating in the programme are expected to continue collaboration throughout 2026, including discussions with additional aviation stakeholders, operators, regulators, and standards bodies.

The Joint Requirements Statement will be formally presented through ongoing GSMA Fusion industry engagement activities and future aviation-focused sessions with global operators and ecosystem partners.

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