Two-Tier UAV-based Low Power Wide Area Networks: A Testbed and Experimentation Study

In this paper, we propose, design, deploy and demonstrate a two-tier Low Power Wide Area Network (LP WAN) system based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) base stations suitable for dynamic deployment in deep rural environments. The proposed UAV-based LP WAN network augments the existing macro-cellular LP WAN network (Tier 1) with an additional layer of mobile base stations (Tier 2) based also on LP WAN technology. Mobile Tier 2 LP WAN base stations provide connectivity to static or mobile LP WAN user equipment deployed in the areas without direct Tier 1 LP WAN network coverage. The proposed two-tier LP WAN network scenario is suitable for various agricultural, forestry and environmental applications such as livestock or wild animal monitoring. In this experimental work, we report the prototype that was successfully deployed and used in a real-world deep rural environment without Tier 1 LP WAN network coverage.