Bell Canada is testing devices which can provide mobile phone coverage when infrastructure is down , such as after a natural disaster . Capable of 384 simultaneous calls and a forty - five minute flight time when airborne , the drones can be attached , via power leads , to ground - based generators , such as the company 's " cell on wheels " mobile station , to make multiple calls at once and have an indefinite flight time . Today a 35-metre-tall base station’s coverage typically drops off at a maximum of 35 kilometres because of the curvature of the Earth – the drones, however, are capable of reaching altitudes in excess of 100 metres, the CTO said. Where cell tower coverage is constricted by the gravity of the Earth , the drones have a larger coverage radius due to their 100 m altitude capabilities .
Bell Canada is testing devices which can provide mobile phone coverage when infrastructure is down , such as after a natural disaster . Capable of 384 simultaneous calls and a forty - five minute flight time when airborne , the drones can be attached , via power leads , to ground - based generators , such as the company 's " cell on wheels " mobile station , to make multiple calls at once and have an indefinite flight time . Where cell tower coverage is constricted by the gravity of the Earth , the drones have a larger coverage radius due to their 100 m altitude capabilities .