Downlink Coverage Probability in a Finite Network of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Base Stations

Abstract

In this paper, we model a finite network of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) base stations as a uniform binomial point process (BPP) and derive exact expression for the coverage probability of a target receiver located on the ground. For cell selection, the target receiver is assumed to connect to the closest UAV. Since Rayleigh fading assumption is not quite reasonable in this case, the convenient exponential form of the resulting channel power gain cannot be used to reduce coverage probability expression into an easy-to-use form. Therefore, we also derive a simple yet accurate approximation for coverage probability by capturing the effect of dominant interferer exactly while carefully approximating the aggregate interference from the rest of the UAVs. Our analysis exposes several interesting system performance trends, such as the fact that the coverage probability decreases with the increase in the height of the UAVs.