Some elements of the paper may offer some degree of optimism, other parts not so much. The FAA administrator's push to have some aspect ready to deploy by the end of this year seems to "just get something going", but still seems rushed to me. The congressional mandate was laid down four years ago and the FAA's glacial pace has pushed them into the position of having to deliver. On the one hand, the slim hope that a non-networked solution (i.e., broadcast) doesn't seem to be dead, the interests of the selected cohort don't represent the hobbyist or Part 107 drone operators as evidenced by the exclusion of people like DJI. I muse at how the titanic efforts and plans of big governments have all been forced to make huge adjusts by the smallest of biological entities. Budgets are strained, forcing a redistribution of funding to deal with the immediate threat of Covid-19 and until the world economy recovers in a few years, I see that trend continuing. I am hopeful the unintended benefit will be that a slower, phased implementation will leave room for our interests to be considered and respected.
Thanks for the post, RotorWash.