Latency Analysis of UAV based Communication Networks

Abstract

UAV based communication is gaining more and more interest in both research and industry. On top of all benefits gained by using UAVs, we investigate in this paper the effect of using UAV communication on the user experienced latency in cellular systems. In particular, we focus on the queuing delay component of latency, and compare the resulting delay when using a UAV base station as compared to a standard ground base station. Numerical results show the advantage of using UAVs in reducing the delay due to the enhanced LOS in the channel, even at a fraction of the transmit power used. Moreover, the results show the need to optimize the height of the UAV based on the user location.