Energy-efficient tethered aerostat platforms for providing last-mile connectivity in national parks

Abstract Protected areas such as national parks and reserves have become increasingly remote; therefore, providing reliable internet connectivity has been a major challenge. Currently, this challenge is addressed through the use of ground-based cellular technology. The construction of ground-based cell towers in preserved areas is highly discouraged to preserve the ecosystem and habitat of the animals. Therefore, tethered aerostats present a perfect solution to the challenge. This work aims to comprehensively assess the efficiency of aerostat platforms to extend network coverage footprint in preserved areas like national parks and reserves. The assessment focuses on path loss, received signal strength (RSS), and network coverage footprint. The network coverage footprint radius of the tethered aerostat is 7.2 km when the transmit power is 43dBm at an altitude of 100 above the base station, according to numerical forecast findings. At 49dBm transmit power, the network coverage footprint radius is 9.7 km, 12.71 km, 15.57 km, and 15.57 km, respectively, when the tethered aerostat is positioned 100 m, 150 m, 200 m, and 250 m above the base station. In a similar line, path loss values for the same transmit power and altitudes are 149.9 dB, 151 dB, 151 dB, and 151.5 dB, respectively. In addition, RSS values for the same transmit power and altitudes are (−96.7 dBm), (−97.55 dBm), (−97.55 dBm), and (−98.84 dBm), respectively. This study concludes that path loss increases when the user moves far away from the center of the network coverage footprint and vice versa. Also, RSS increases when the user moves close to the center of the network coverage footprint and vice versa.