Summary

  • Anatel Consultation 43 proposes ten 200 kHz simplex channels across 468–470 MHz for remotely piloted aircraft, with channel aggregation allowed.
  • Brazil’s existing SLMA definition limits remotely piloted aircraft to non-recreational aircraft capable of interacting with air traffic control in real time; station licensing retains aviation-authority checks.

A new radio band sounds like a door opening. Anatel’s proposed 468–470 MHz channel plan comes with a person at the door asking whether the aircraft can interact with air traffic control in real time.

That question is already in Brazil’s technical rulebook. Anatel’s 2023 requirements define a remotely piloted aircraft, for this service, as a subset of unmanned aircraft piloted from a remote station, used for a purpose other than recreation and capable of real-time interaction with Air Traffic Control. Consultation 43 adds a frequency row for that class; “drone” is a broader label than the rule’s eligibility test.

The proposed row is unusually legible: 468–470 MHz, a starting carrier frequency of 468.1 MHz and ten simplex channels, each 200 kHz wide. The power columns tell a more interesting story: 50 W at transmitter output for the aeronautical ground station, and a dash for the aircraft station. Ten channels at 200 kHz fill the two-megahertz block. The draft would also allow those channels to be aggregated, with the carrier centered on the resulting combined channelization.

Aggregation is an engineering option with alignment work attached. Equipment plans still have to match the final channel arrangement and the operating conditions that survive the consultation. The station filing and the aircraft’s real operating profile decide whether that neat row travels into a real deployment.

The draft edits more than the new RPA row. For aircraft telemetry at 2,200–2,290 MHz, proposed item 6.12 names Alcântara and Raposa in Maranhão and points to additional locations in item 10 of Annex VIII of Brazil’s 2026 frequency plan. For 5,091–5,151 MHz telemetry, proposed item 6.14 limits operation to the geographic regions in that same Annex VIII item. The band number alone is not the map.

Anatel’s existing Ato 17.207 puts two aviation checks in the station-licensing chain: the competent aircraft-inspection authorities for aircraft stations, and the Brazilian Air Force Command (COMAER) for ground aeronautical stations. The proposal changes technical requirements; the rulebook still assigns work to more than one desk. A frequency planner who files “Anatel approved” in the project tracker has left two boxes suspiciously empty.

This is the useful management question. Treat the proposed allocation, the aircraft’s eligibility under the SLMA definition, ground and aircraft station licensing, and the geographic telemetry rules as separate fields in the deployment record. Put one owner against each. That lets engineering, flight operations and regulatory teams see the same aircraft without pretending they are answering the same question.

Consultation 43 remained open on Anatel’s public participation portal when checked on 25 October 2026. The agency’s text invites comments for up to 30 days. That window is for settling the wording: channel aggregation, the reference to the new frequency plan and how the technical requirements fit the aviation service. It is a useful moment to point out a missing cross-reference before it becomes a very official scavenger hunt.

The proposed band has a clear shape. Its practical value depends on whether the final rule keeps that shape connected to the aircraft class, station approvals and geographic conditions that govern it. In aviation, a frequency is one line in the route plan; the operating record needs the station, aircraft and geography alongside it.

Sources