Energy Efficiency Optimization in Integrated Satellite-Terrestrial UAV-Enabled Cell-Free Massive MIMO

Abstract: Integrating cell-free massive MIMO (CF-mMIMO) into satellite-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) networks offers an effective solution for enhancing connectivity. In this setup, UAVs serve as access points (APs) of a terrestrial CF-mMIMO network extending the satellite network capabilities, thereby ensuring robust, high-quality communication links. In this work, we propose a successive convex approximation algorithm for maximizing the downlink energy efficiency (EE) at the UAVs under per-UAV power budget and user quality-of-service constraints. We derive a closed-form expression for the EE that accounts for maximum-ratio transmission and statistical channel knowledge at the users. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in maximizing the EE at the UAV layer. Moreover, we observe that a few tens of UAVs transmitting with a fine-tuned power are sufficient to empower the service of satellite networks and significantly increase the spectral efficiency.