Optimizing Cellular Networks for UAV Corridors via Quantization Theory

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantization theory-based framework to optimize cellular networks for UAV corridors, balancing coverage and quality for both ground users and aerial vehicles through antenna tilt and power adjustments.

Contribution

It presents a novel mathematical framework and optimization algorithms for designing cellular networks tailored for UAV corridors considering realistic antenna and channel models.

Findings

Enhanced coverage along UAV corridors with minimal impact on ground users.

Optimized antenna tilts and power levels improve signal quality for UAVs.

Framework effectively balances performance tradeoffs between ground and aerial users.

Abstract

We present a new framework based on quantization theory to design cellular networks optimized for both legacy ground users and uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) corridors, dedicated aerial highways for safe UAV flights. Our framework leverages antenna tilts and transmit power at each base station to enhance coverage and quality of service among users. We develop a comprehensive mathematical analysis and optimization algorithms for multiple system-level performance metrics, including received signal strength and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio. Realistic antenna radiation patterns and propagation channel models are considered, alongside a generic 3D user distribution that allows for performance prioritization on the ground, along UAV corridors, or a desired tradeoff between the two. We demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed framework through case studies, showcasing the non-trivial combinations of antenna tilts and power levels that improve coverage and signal quality along UAV corridors while incurring only a marginal impact on the ground user performance compared to scenarios without UAVs.