Google aims to begin drone parcel deliveries in 2017

Washington

INTERNET giant Alphabet Inc, the new holding company for Google, expects to begin delivering packages to consumers via drones sometime in 2017, the executive in charge of its drone effort said on Monday.

David Vos, the leader for Alphabet's Project Wing, said his company is in talks with the Federal Aviation Administration and other stakeholders about setting up an air traffic control system for drones that would use cellular and Internet technology to coordinate unmanned aerial vehicle flights at altitudes under 500 feet (152 metres). "Our goal is to have commercial business up and running in 2017," he told an audience at an air traffic control convention near Washington.