For almost a decade, drone operators were flying under a simple rule. “You can only fly as far as the pilot or operator can see,” said James Grimsley, Director of Advanced Technology Initiatives at Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

The use of drones for last-mile deliveries has been slow to take off, but proposed rule changes could soon open the skies to more drone deliveries. Drones have been approved for commercial home deliveries for more than six years, but actual drone delivery service has so far been limited to areas within the direct line of sight of an operator.

The FAA proposed a new rule last week that would make it easier for companies to fly drones outside of an operator’s line of sight and therefore over longer distances.

Drone delivery is so fast it can zip a pint of ice cream from Walmart to a customer’s driveway before it melts. Yet drone delivery has also been slow to

The FAA has proposed a rule to allow delivery drones to fly beyond an operator’s line of sight, expanding service to millions of U.S. homes.

FAA's new drone delivery rules eliminate regulatory barriers, paving the way for Amazon, Walmart, and Wing to expand beyond test markets nationwide.