A Mathematical 3D Solution to Efficiently Locate Drones in 5G Wireless Networks

One of the most important issues in wireless networks is the proper coverage of users as well as providing quality of service (QoS). The fifth generation of mobile networks is moving towards higher QoS with higher data rates, but this higher rate reduces the coverage of drone base stations (DBSs). The existence of natural and abnormal events around the world makes user coverage difficult on the mobile network. One solution to this problem is to use the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as a mobile DBS. In the mobile network, the problem of optimizing DBSs positioning is the most important issue for covering users and guaranteeing the QoS. In this paper, finding the proper location of DBSs is modeled as a $${\varvec{P}}$$ -median optimization problem, where $${\varvec{P}}$$ is the number of DBSs available to cover users. Since this $${\varvec{P}}$$ -median model requires a set of specific nominee points to select the location of DBSs, two methods are proposed to introduce these points. The optimal value of P for each method is also obtained by the heuristic algorithm. Finally, by solving the optimization problem, the optimal locations of DBSs are specified and the two methods are numerically evaluated.