Capacity and Link Budget Management for Low-Altitude Telemedicine Drone Network Design and Implementation

Abstract

Network planning involves link budget and capacity management to ensure scalability since adequate capacity is necessary to support coverage expansion and traffic demand increases. The primary objective in network standardization is to minimize implementation costs while maintaining a desired level of service. The harsh outdoor environment of millimeter-wave propagation is subject to various uncontrollable factors that can significantly affect network performance and reliability. This is particularly problematic for drones that support life-saving telemedicine applications, especially when many accidents take place under heavy rainfall, making standardization particularly challenging. Our study compares a number of deployment options such as variation of modulation schemes and differences of carrier frequencies between 10, 30, and 50 GHz. The selected frequencies cover a broad range of options for 5G implementation that serves as a backbone network for standardizing communication networks for mission-critical telemedicine drone services.