Uneven skies: How digital infrastructure and local context shape civilian drone adoption

Civilian drones have rapidly expanded from niche technologies to widespread tools for recreation and commerce, yet their diffusion remains uneven. This study analyzes the U.S. drone registration data (2016–2019) to examine how digital infrastructure and regulation shape adoption patterns. After data cleaning and county-level aggregation, broadband access, built environment, and state policy interventions were tested as predictors using an integrated framework of spatial–temporal hotspot analysis and Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR). While global OLS results identify broadband connectivity as a primary correlate, the MGWR analysis reveals significant spatial non-stationarity, indicating that the associations of broadband and housing density with adoption vary across regions. Specifically, digital infrastructure exhibits a stronger positive association with adoption in rural and developing regions compared to established tech hubs. Adoption clusters in urban and affluent areas, revealing persistent digital and social divides. These findings highlight how infrastructure and governance are jointly associated with the spread of emerging technologies through spatially distinct mechanisms, underscoring the need for adaptive, place-based policy frameworks in the drone era.