NEW DELHI: Finnish telecom technology company Nokia Thursday said that it can manage safe operations of drones via Long Term Evolution (LTE) high bandwidth technology.

Nokia’s technology provides centralized monitoring and control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Traffic Management (UTM) through an operator’s existing LTE network or dedicated LTE networks run by government or public safety departments, the company said in a statement.

“LTE enables innovative high-bandwidth services for the telecom industry and beyond. With market-leading LTE expertise, Nokia’s UTM concept for operators and authorities can enable the safe operation of drones as part of the development of smart cities around the globe,” Joachim Wuilmet, head of Customer Marketing and Communications, Middle East and Africa, Nokia said.

Nokia believes that drones equipped with LTE dongles, GPS and access modules can serve various industries such as healthcare, logistics, agriculture and entertainment, but carefully managing UAV growth is a challenge for governments and aviation authorities.

The telecom major is currently showcasing UTM concept for the safe operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) via LTE at the ‘UAE Drones for Good Award’ event in Dubai.

“The UAE Drones for Good Award aims at highlighting the latest developments in drones technology and its diverse uses in various sectors, including emergency and logistics services,” Amer Abdulraoof, Deputy Coordinator General of the UAE Drones For Good Award said.

LTE is a technology that can be used on both paired and unpaired spectrum allocations, and the company works with 15 telecom operators across Asia, Europe and North America regions for deployment.