Amazon Might Start Testing Its Delivery Drones In India, Since It Can’t In The US
Amazon
Amazon will reportedly start testing its delivery drones in India as soon as October, sources tell The Economic Times of India.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos first announced the company’s drone delivery ambitions back in December 2013, which would let customers receive packages in as little as 30 minutes.
The company hit roadblocks in its initial testing because commercial drone use is currently illegal in the US. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently dictates that only hobbyists can fly drones outdoors, while all commercial experimentation needs to take place indoors. (The FAA was originally expected to lift its ban on commercial drones starting in September 2015, but The Washington Post says “technical and regulatory obstacles” will delay that deadline.)
To avoid these domestic regulatory constraints, Amazon will reportedly start drone trials in India, which doesn’t have any laws about drone usage. The Economic Times pinpointed two Indian cities, Mumbai and Bangalore, where Amazon already has warehouses.
The testing would likely bring big publicity to Amazon in India, where the company is currently battling it out with Flipkart, an e-commerce company that recently raised $1 billion. The next day, Bezos announced that Amazon would invest $2 billion in its Indian operations.
Amazon told The Economic Times that it wouldn’t comment on the rumors.
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.
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