Know Your Network

The reliability of your network connection is key to the success of your UAS operations at the event. Unfortunately, one of the primary challenges of a heavily attended event – the large number of attendees – can have a direct negative impact on the quality of the network available to you.

For mobile connections outside of a municipal network, be sure to consider the following before your event:

Are you operating on a priority network (such as AT&T First Net)? Have you tested its coverage in the area and its performance during times of heavy network usage?

Are you close to your monthly data limit? Does your ISP throttle data usage?

Have a backup! Access to an alternate internet service provider (ISP) can mean the difference between success and failure.

Check with IT

Address network security and restrictive IT policies on municipal networks well ahead of time. Video streaming can be blocked by firewalls, or even by settings or configuration limitations directly on the iPad. If you are employing managed devices or networks, be sure to close the loop with the IT resources early, as these adjustments can take considerable time.

As you get closer to the event, determine the network connectivity and speed on site. Keep in mind that speed tests can be deceiving – data packet loss can wreak havoc on a live video stream, so you'll want to check multiple times beforehand. Monitor your connections during test runs to make sure there aren't any local hiccups or dead spots.

• To adequately test your network connection, stability, and quality, use a speed test that measures performance over time. The following link is the one we recommend:
  https://speed.cloudflare.com/
  • This test can be run on the remote controller and computer.
  • Ideally, your Network Quality Score should be Good.
    
  • In the example below, you can see the speeds are close to our recommended download and upload speeds, but the Network Quality Score is Bad for video streaming and would not be adequate for remote operations.
    
  • These results can change over time, so do a speed test at different times.