Broadband Breakfast on June 10, 2026 - Drones and the Battle for Airspace

The federal government has moved to push Chinese-made drones off the market, and the broadband industry is sorting through what that means in practice. From tower inspections and network surveys to last-mile mapping and rural coverage verification, drones have become quiet workhorses of broadband deployment. With DJI effectively frozen out of new U.S. sales and the FCC's "American Drone Dominance" proceeding actively seeking comment, operators, contractors, and equipment providers are weighing their options. This session examines what the regulatory shift actually transpires on the ground, whether domestic alternatives are ready to fill the void, and how FCC spectrum proposals, including potential drone access to CBRS and mobile broadband bands, could reshape the economics of aerial infrastructure.

Panelists

• Jeff DeCoux, President and CEO, ATRIUS Industries
• Steven Philpott, CEO, Nelcielo Mobility Holdings
• Sean Cassidy, CEO, Airgyde
• Mark Bathrick, President, Bathrick Aviation Consulting
• Jason Day, Deputy Director, DRONERESPONDERS
• Drew Clark (moderator), CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Jeffrey DeCoux is a technology founder with over 30 years of experience enhancing business productivity through automation. He's raised over $100 million for venture and business operations, built world-leading Boards of Directors, and funded dozens of patents, including for the foundational enterprise relationship management systems used today. He currently serves as the Founder and Chairman of the Autonomy Institute, a consortium of over 400 organizations from industry, government, and academia. The institute's core focus is accelerating the "Path to Commerce" for intelligent infrastructure and autonomous systems. This work aims to establish Intelligent Infrastructure Economic Zones and is foundational to Industry 4.0 solutions, which include connected autonomous vehicles (CAV), unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and advanced air mobility (AAM). The Autonomy Institute also established Urbanautics, the study and practice of designing and operating massively connected autonomous and intelligent systems for the public good.

Steven C. Philpott, Sr. is the Founder & CEO of Nelcielo Mobility Holdings NLP, focused on city-grade policy and executable rules for Urban Air Mobility and autonomous logistics. He is an active standards and commercialization contributor across NASA UTM AAM and leading industry bodies.  His work centers on aligning emerging technology, community benefit, and public/sector doctrine to unlock durable regional mobility networks.

Sean Cassidy has spent his four-decade aviation career advancing safety, policy, and operational innovation, most recently in uncrewed aircraft systems. He previously led Safety, Flight Operations, and Regulatory Affairs at Amazon Prime Air, securing its first FAA Part 135 air carrier certificate and launching commercial drone delivery. Before Amazon, he served as First Vice President of the Air Line Pilots Association and earlier was a U.S. Naval Aviator and longtime Alaska Airlines captain.

Mark L. Bathrick, the former Director of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Office of Aviation Services (OAS), is now the President of Bathrick Aviation Consulting. As Director, he oversaw the safety, compliance, and performance of over 2,000 contracted and government-owned crewed and uncrewed aircraft and pilots. Notably, he played a pivotal role in transforming aerial firefighting through significant modernization and technology innovation efforts.

Jason Day is the Deputy Director of DRONERESPONDERS, the world’s leading non‑profit program advancing public safety UAS, counter‑UAS, and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). In this role, Jason oversees daily operations, training and event coordination, and strategic engagement with public safety agencies and the private‑sector partners that support them.

Breakfast Media LLC CEO Drew Clark has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing tool to collect and verify broadband data left unpublished by the Federal Communications Commission. As CEO and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media community advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.