Beam-Pointing Algorithm for Contiguous High-Altitude Platform Cell Formation for Extended Coverage

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a scheme for beam-pointing from a high altitude platform (HAP) for contiguous coverage delivery within an extended service area. The scheme, which illuminates cells, considers the broadening of beams on the ground from the HAP-based antenna array. A predetermined degree of overlap is introduced between neighbouring cells to minimize user outages when moving between cells. In order to evaluate the performance of the scheme, users are randomly distributed at a density of λ users/km <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> over a service area of radius R. We compare the cell overlap, users' carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR), and carrier-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (CINR) with those of other cell-pointing schemes. The results show that cell overlap is better managed using our proposed schemes. In addition, the proposed scheme significantly improves user CNR and CINR, achieving a CINR improvement of 5-15dB compared with the other schemes.