Charting the Future of Aviation: Key Takeaways from the Drone & AAM Policy Symposium

The recent Drone & Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Policy Symposium brought together the full weight of government, industry, and innovation to focus on the policies, technologies, and partnerships defining the next era of American airspace.

Senior leadership from FAA, DOT, DHS, NASA, DoD, CBP, DOC, DIU, US. Coast Guard, Senator Rick Scott and dozens of industry leaders — from Wing and Joby Aviation to Verizon, Iridium, Amazon Prime Air, Wisk, United and Delta Airlines (full list of companies and keynotes below) gathered to shape the regulatory, operational, and strategic roadmap for uncrewed aviation. For TEAL, it was a chance to engage directly on how connectivity, trust, and interoperability will underpin scalable and resilient operations in a dynamic policy environment.

The Symposium’s Central Themes:

Collaborate. Navigate. Elevate.

• Collaborate – Cross-agency and cross-sector alignment is essential to policy progress.

• Navigate – Understanding how rules, spectrum, and infrastructure are evolving is key.

• Elevate – With the right strategy and partnerships, scaling secure AAM and UAS operations is not only possible, it’s inevitable.

Top Themes and Insights Through TEAL’s Lens

FAA’s Momentum on Part 108

The FAA is doubling down on its long-awaited Part 108 rule for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations. The regulatory complexity is real, but so is the commitment to delivering a rule that enables safe, scalable UAS operations. TEAL saw firsthand how this will unlock industry-wide growth, provided the standards match the mission diversity across sectors. Big changes are ahead. The momentum behind this effort is real and long overdue.

Connectivity: Redundancy Isn’t Optional

From BVLOS to UTM, to AAM passenger flights, connectivity is foundational, and resiliency is non-negotiable. The industry is aligning around a multi-layered approach that TEAL has long championed:

• Cellular, satellite, and RF working in concert

• C2 (Command and Control) prioritized for safety-critical, low-latency needs

• Seamless integration of payload, telemetry, entertainment, and operator links

• Devices that talk to each other, the network, and the airspace system

TEAL’s Network Orchestration Service (NOS) is built for this layered, failover-ready reality.

3GPP Standards: The Interoperability Blueprint

The rise of 3GPP standards for networked UAS operations is accelerating and not a moment too soon. As congestion increases in urban and suburban environments, these standards offer a path to scalable, interoperable, and cost-effective connectivity.

• Urban corridor routing and airspace density support

• Secure aircraft identification and telemetry

• Support for Remote ID and cooperative V2V communication

But it all depends on one thing: spectrum policy that meets the moment.

Cellular and Satellite: Stronger Together

One of the clearest messages from the symposium: cellular and satellite aren’t rivals, they’re partners.

• Satellite excels in remote, oceanic, and disaster zones

• Cellular is ideal for cities, ports, campuses, and infrastructure corridors

• Together, they offer the resiliency and coverage the ecosystem demands

TEAL enables the ability to dynamically orchestrates across them in real time.

Regulation Must Reflect Mission Diversity

Across use cases such as package delivery, powerline inspection, border security, medical logistics, BVLOS isn’t one-size-fits-all. TEAL applauds the FAA’s shift toward risk-based regulation and believes future rules must allow for:

• Operational flexibility

• Tailored safety cases

• Innovation across urban, rural, and public-sector environments

National Security & Domestic UAS Production

Security and supply chain resilience were key themes. Federal agencies emphasized their commitment to reducing foreign dependency by:

• Supporting U.S.-based drone manufacturing

• Strengthening procurement policy alignment

• Advancing trusted platform standards (e.g. Blue UAS, ITAR-compliant solutions)

TEAL is a U.S.-built, wholly owned, GSMA-certified platform proudly built for secure, domestic and global deployments.

Broader Symposium Highlights

Industry & Government Alignment

• FAA & NASA presented progress on automation, autonomy certification, and UTM pilots.

• NTIA & FCC addressed spectrum reform and the urgent need for updated allocations.

• DOC & DoD unveiled policy strategies for growing U.S. drone manufacturing capacity.

• Public safety agencies shared lessons from Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) and disaster response deployments.

Sky for All: NASA’s Vision

NASA’s “Sky for All” initiative imagines a mid-century airspace system that is cooperative, scalable, and digitally enabled — where drones, air taxis, and traditional aircraft share the skies with seamless coordination.

Keynotes and Leading Organizations in Attendance

The Symposium featured keynotes from Senator Rick Scott, AUVSI leadership, Wing, Northrop Gumman, Skydio, Joby Aviation, Wisk Aero, Delta Airlines, United Airlines, FAA, DoC, US DOT, FCC, NTIA, Viasat, Iridium, Zipline, Southern Company, NASA, US Coast Guard, CBP, US Senate Judiciary Committee, US House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Verizon, Qualcomm, Echodyne, Hextronics, DroneUp, Parrot, Amazon Prime Air, BETA Technologies, Archer Aviation, DHS, uAvionix, The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and more.

Final Word from TEAL

The future of uncrewed flight is coming fast and it’s not just about aircraft.
It’s about building the connectivity fabric that supports it.
It’s about shaping policy and standards that enable it.
It’s about creating platforms that are trusted, open, secure and resilient.

At TEAL, we’re proud to be part of this movement and even more excited about where it’s headed.

If autonomy is the destination, connectivity is the runway. And we’re ready for takeoff.

Let us know if you’d like to connect with TEAL’s expert, get a product demo, or explore how our Network Orchestration Service (NOS) can support your drone operations.

Schedule a free consultation now!