Reshaping Cellular Networks for the Sky: Major Factors and Feasibility

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This paper studies the feasibility of supporting drone operations using existent cellular infrastructure.

• We propose an analytical framework that includes the effects of base station (BS) height and antenna radiation pattern, drone antenna directivity and various propagation environments.
• With this framework, we derive an exact expression for the coverage probability of ground and drone users through a practical cell association strategy.
• Our results show that a carefully designed network can control the radiated interference that is received by the drones, and therefore guarantees a satisfactory quality of service.