With more retailers, like Walmart, seeking approval to test delivery of products by drones, is it only a matter of time before publishers or others seek to trial delivery of the daily newspaper by drones? While there are regulatory challenges, drone delivery of newspapers could be more cost-effective in built-up areas where drones would be challenging.
The Economist recently published an excellent article, Welcome to The Drone Age. The article opens with a stat that is extraordinary:
THE scale and scope of the revolution in the use of small, civilian drones has caught many by surprise. In 2010 America’s Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) estimated that there would, by 2020, be perhaps 15,000 such drones in the country. More than that number are now sold there every month.
Swiss Post is trialling drones for small parcel delivery. So, why not newspapers?
I read a similar article regarding a trial in France where drones are being used to transport a Defibrillator to emergency heart attack calls at residential properties, as they can arrive in a fraction of the time that it takes an ambulance to arrive as it navigates traffic. I wonder if my local coffee shop is taking note!