FCC Chairman Tours North Dakota Drone Sector
The visit previews federal spectrum and broadcast ownership decisions that could affect the state's industries.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Telecommunications
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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr joined U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer in North Dakota on Monday, meeting broadcasters in Fargo and touring the state's uncrewed aerial systems sector in Grand Forks. The visit is a fact-finding exercise; the FCC's recent freeing of 800 megahertz of spectrum for drone operations is a policy already in place, while the broadcaster ownership review remains under consideration.
Why it matters
Station managers told the chairman they are losing advertising dollars to digital platforms such as Google and Facebook, and the FCC is reviewing decades-old ownership rules that govern local broadcasters. Cramer framed domestic drone components and secure communications as critical to national defense, tying the state's drone industry to the federal spectrum agenda.
The FCC has freed up spectrum in the 800 megahertz band to support drone operations, a band allocation rather than a measured performance figure. The source gives no throughput, range, or latency comparator for the new spectrum.
The players
Brendan Carr
FCC Chairman who leads the agency that regulates U.S. broadcast, wireless, and spectrum allocation policy.
Kevin Cramer
U.S. Senator from North Dakota who advocates for the state's uncrewed aerial systems industry and defense supply chain.
Northrop Grumman
Defense contractor that builds aerospace and unmanned systems and was visited during the Grand Forks tour.
General Atomics
Defense contractor known for its unmanned aircraft and was visited during the Grand Forks tour.
The details
The FCC regulates the radio spectrum, the range of radio frequencies that wireless devices use to communicate, and assigns bands to specific services. By freeing 800 megahertz for drone operations, the agency makes a slice of that spectrum available for the command and data links that drones depend on. Ownership rules set limits on how many stations a single company can hold in a market, and the FCC's review of those decades-old rules is intended to give local broadcasters more flexibility. Carr also said automakers can use cost-effective shielding to prevent interference in electric vehicles, a reference to protecting radio reception from electrical noise.
Timeline
Monday, November 2, 2026: Carr visited the Fargo broadcaster roundtable and toured Grand Forks drone sites with Cramer.
The Tech Race
The FCC's 800 megahertz allocation for drones places the agency's spectrum decisions directly into the competition to build domestic uncrewed aerial systems. North Dakota's Grand Forks cluster, with its Air Force base and defense contractors, is positioned as a testbed for that effort.
Local broadcasters in North Dakota could see changes if the FCC's ownership-rule review leads to new flexibility, but the source gives no timeline for any decision. Drone operators and manufacturers in the state gain access to the newly freed 800 megahertz spectrum, though the source does not say when devices or services will use it.
The takeaway
Watch whether the FCC's ownership-rule review produces a proposed order, since that would show whether local broadcasters get the flexibility Carr's roundtable discussed. Track how the 800 megahertz allocation is used in North Dakota's drone testing at Grand Forks.
Further reading
For more on the regulators shaping this, see the Telecommunications section.
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