Credit: C. Robertson/CSU Working outside is always a highlight for me at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It happens more often than you might think, and probably earlier in the day, too. Last month I drove out to Fort Collins, Colorado, at 5 in the morning to conduct some measurements for my research on broadband for public safety communications and applications. My colleague, Roger Blalock, and I set up several tripods with smartphones that morning around Christman Airfield, a test airport owned by Colorado State University. It was cold and tedious, but at the same time we were both more than happy to be there. The smartphones measured connectivity data from an LTE cellular transmitter attached to a drone flying overhead. It’s a really cool idea for bringing broadband service to first responders in the field, and I hope the concept takes off (no pun intended).