Deployment of UAV-BS for Congestion Alleviation in Cellular Networks

Due to advantages of moving feasibility and placing flexibility, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) mounted Base Stations (UAV-BSs) have been widely utilized to assist congested cellular networks in several scenarios. In this paper, we study the deployment of UAV-BSs to alleviate traffic congestion in cellular networks. We formulate the network model for a UAV-assisted cellular network and formulate the deployment problem. In order to solve this problem, we propose a UAV deployment algorithm to deploy a number of UAV-BSs providing wireless communication services for ground user devices. The algorithm first initializes the service connection between UDs and SBSs. Secondly, UAV-BSs are deployed to ensure that all ground user devices are covered with a minimum number of UAV-BSS. Finally, UAV-BSs’ altitudes are adjusted to minimize the coverage range and reduce energy consumption. Furthermore, numerical results demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed algorithm.