Zipline starts drone deliveries in Round Rock, Texas, with a 5,000-resident early-access program

Zipline/Platform 2 (P2)

Zipline launched drone delivery in Round Rock, Texas, on October 9, its third Texas metro after Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. Early access covers the first 5,000 residents to sign up. The launch comes while an FAA draft environmental assessment, whose public comment period closes October 11, would extend Zipline's operating approval to five Texas metros, including Austin.

• Customers within 3 miles of 3000 E. Palm Valley Blvd. can order through the Zipline app; early members get $10 off their first three orders and no service or delivery fees.
• The reported weight limit is about 5 pounds (2.3 kg) per order, lowered by tether to a spot the customer picks.
• The FAA draft sets a ceiling of 30,000 deliveries a day for Austin; the draft is not final, and the source does not say which authorization covers the Round Rock flights today.
• Zipline says it has passed 3 million commercial deliveries and plans to raise its typical cruise altitude to 400 feet; its claim of six times lower delivery noise comes without published measurements.