Innovative Drone Network for Emergencies from Nokia and Swisscom

Nokia and Swisscom’s Innovative Drone Network Partnership

Nokia has partnered with Swisscom Broadcast to create a nationwide “Drone as a Service” network in Switzerland aimed at emergency services and other applications requiring aerial observation. This innovative solution will consist of 300 “drone in a box” units deployed across the country as part of the Finnish network company’s Nokia Drone Networks service. This way, customers will be able to request a drone flight without having to purchase or operate a drone themselves.

Swisscom plans to initially offer three main services as part of the launch of this drone network:

• Emergency Response Service: This service will assist emergency services in responding quickly and effectively to incidents such as accidents, fires, or crime scenes.
• Infrastructure Inspection: Drones will be used to enhance the safety of workers maintaining electric lines, bridges, and buildings.
• Surveillance Service: Drones will be deployed to monitor critical areas such as public spaces, prisons, borders, and military facilities.

Nokia states that each “drone in a box” unit includes the drones themselves, a deployment station, a ground control station, video and thermal cameras, related software, and service components. This solution uses 4G/5G wireless connectivity for data collection operations. Additionally, it indicates that the industrial-grade drone has been approved by relevant authorities for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations.

A fleet consisting of these drone units can be effectively controlled from a single remote operation center. However, no statements have been made yet regarding the production costs of these drones or the fees for the services to be offered.