Operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network

Abstract

The disclosure relates to computer apparatuses, computer program products and computer-implemented methods of operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network comprising a plurality of fixed macro cell base stations located at cell sites throughout a geographical area for providing wireless connections to user equipment within the geographical area. Drone fleet status data and quality data for the wireless cellular network are received by the computer apparatus and used to determine a set of drone despatch instructions for despatching drones in the fleet to provide ad hoc wireless connections to improve the coverage or capacity of the wireless cellular network at locations in the geographical region.

Description

OPERATING A FLEET OF DRONES TO SUPPORT A WIRELESS CELLULAR NETWORKFIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present disclosure is directed to the field of wireless cellular communications networks. In particular, the present disclosure relates to methods, computing apparatus and software for operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network.BACKGROUND

[0002] Mobile telecommunications networks, such as wireless cellular networks, are typically capable of providing wireless network connectivity to, and communicating with a range of different electronic devices across a large area, via base stations. Base stations forming part of a mobile telecommunications network may include macro cell and small cell base stations.

[0003] Various areas of a cellular network may experience differing levels of traffic throughout the day and so, with fixed base stations, may be unable to flexibly adjust to differing demand levels over time. Further, the wireless cellular network may not provide consistent levels of signal coverage or quality throughout the geographical area, and in rural areas in particular, some areas may not be provided with reliable signal coverage by the macro cell base stations.

[0004] It is in this context that the subject matter contained in the present application has been devised.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] It has been realised that a flexible way of providing network connectivity which is adjustable to differing demand levels over time can be provided by a fleet of drones which can perform as mobile small cell base stations working in conjunction with the macro cell base stations of a wireless cellular network. For example, in urban areas, demand may increase during peak times for commuting or during events and accidents, and, in rural areas, coverage and signal quality may be low, and as such, demand can easily outstrip available capacity.

[0006] It has been realised that ad hoc wireless connections can be provided by a fleet of drones which can be despatched according to need in order to address variations in capacity and coverage requirements in a wireless cellular network. The methods disclosed herein include the reception and use of quality data and drone fleet status information to determine drone despatch instructions for despatching drones in a fleet of drones to provide ad hoc wireless connections to improve the coverage or capacity of the wireless cellular network at locations in a geographical region.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method of operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network comprising a plurality of fixed macro cell base stations located at cell sites throughout a geographical area for providing wireless connections to user equipment within the geographical area, each drone capable of pairing with a macro cell base station, BTS, and acting as a mobile airborne small cell base station to provide ad hoc wireless connections to supplement the macro cell base stations, with wireless backhaul back to the paired macro cell base station, the method comprising: receiving quality data for the wireless cellular network, wherein the quality data includes information concerning at least one of the signal strength, quality, available capacity and demand of the wireless connections to user equipment in the wireless cellular network at locations throughout the geographical region; receiving drone fleet status data including information concerning at least one of the location of each drone, the paired macro cell base station for each drone, the battery status for each drone indicating remaining flight time; and determining, based on: the quality data indicating locations in the geographical area requiring ad hoc small cell coverage; and the drone fleet status data relating the available drone resources in the geographical area; a set of drone despatch instructions for despatching drones in the fleet to provide ad hoc wireless connections to improve the coverage or capacity of the wireless cellular network at locations in the geographical region.

[0008] The method may further comprise: assigning, based on the drone despatch instructions and on the drone fleet status data each drone as a child of a parent macro cell base station; and controlling the drones to: travel to their assigned parent base stations; and pair with the assigned parent base station.

[0009] The method may further comprise periodically receiving further quality data and drone fleet status data from the wireless cellular network; determining, based on the further quality data and drone fleet status data, an updated set of drone despatch instructions; reassigning, based on the updated set of drone despatch instructions, a plurality of drones to a new parent BTS; and controlling the re-assigned drones to: unpair with their previously assigned parent BTS; travel to their assigned parent base station; and pair with the assigned parent BTS.

[0010] The method may further comprise identifying, based on the quality data, a network demand in an identified location; controlling at least one drone to travel to the identified location and provide ad hoc wireless connections to supplement the parent BTS.

[0011] The network demand may be in an identified area outside of the wireless cellular network to which coverage can be extended, the at least one drone extending the coverageof the wireless cellular network by providing ad hoc wireless connection for user equipment attempting to access the wireless cellular network.

[0012] The network demand may be in an identified area of the mobile network surrounding a parent BTS for which additional coverage is required, the at least one drone providing additional coverage of the wireless cellular network by providing ad hoc wireless connection for wireless communication user equipment attempting to access the wireless cellular network.

[0013] The network demand may be in an identified area of the wireless cellular network in the area surrounding a parent BTS for which access demand by user equipment is higher than a predefined threshold, the at least one drone providing additional coverage of the wireless cellular network by providing ad hoc wireless connection for wireless communication user equipment attempting to access the wireless cellular network.

[0014] The quality data may be collected by controlling a drone to: travel to an identified location and collect information concerning at least one of the signal strength, quality, available capacity and demand at the identified location; and transmit the collected information to the parent BTS or a centralized drone orchestrator.

[0015] The method may further comprise controlling a drone to: travel to an identified location; and perform a hardware inspection, wherein the drone collects information concerning physical qualities of a macro cell base station; wherein the collected information includes photographs.

[0016] The method may further comprise controlling the at least one drone to enter a charging mode; wherein the charging mode is a mode in which a battery of the at least one drone is charged.

[0017] The charging mode may be ended when the battery of the at least one drone is fully charged or the charge level of the at least one drone is above a predefined threshold and a network demand is identified.

[0018] When the charge level of a drone falls below a predefined threshold when travelling between parent base stations, the drone may travel to the nearest parent BTS and enters a charging mode.

[0019] The method may further comprise, when a charge level of a first drone falls below a predefined threshold when performing a function while away from the parent BTS, controlling the first drone to: transmit a low charge signal to the parent BTS, wherein the low charge signal indicates a current location of the first drone and that the first drone will return to the parent BTS; travel to the parent BTS; and enter a charging mode; and controlling a seconddrone at the parent BTS to travel to the location indicated in the low charge signal; and perform the function of the first drone.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided computer apparatus for operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network comprising a plurality of fixed macro cell base stations located at cell sites throughout a geographical area for providing wireless connections to user equipment within the geographical area, each drone capable of pairing with a macro cell base station, BTS, and acting as a mobile airborne small cell base station to provide ad hoc wireless connections to supplement the macro cell base stations, with wireless backhaul back to the paired macro cell base station, the computing apparatus comprising: one or more processors; memory storing instructions which, when executed by one or more of the processors, cause the computing apparatus to: receive quality data for the wireless cellular network, wherein the quality data includes information concerning at least one of the signal strength, quality, available capacity and demand of the wireless connections to user equipment in the wireless cellular network at locations throughout the geographical region; receive drone fleet status data including information concerning at least one of the location of each drone, the paired macro cell base station for each drone, the battery status for each drone indicating remaining flight time; and determine, based on: the quality data indicating locations in the geographical area requiring ad hoc small cell coverage; and the drone fleet status data relating the available drone resources in the geographical area; a set of drone despatch instructions for despatching drones in the fleet to provide ad hoc wireless connections to improve the coverage or capacity of the wireless cellular network at locations in the geographical region.

[0021] The one or more processors of the computer apparatus may be in one or more of the drones, one or more of the macro cell base stations, and / or one or more servers communicatively coupled to the wireless cellular network.

[0022] According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a computer- readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by computing apparatus, cause the computing apparatus to carry out the method.

[0023] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a drone configured to support a wireless cellular network comprising a plurality of fixed macro cell base stations located at cell sites throughout a geographical area for providing wireless connections to user equipment within the geographical area, each drone capable of pairing with a macro cell base station, BTS, and acting as a mobile airborne small cell base station to provide ad hoc wireless connections to supplement the macro base stations, with wireless backhaul back to the paired macro cell base station.

[0024] According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a macro cell base station for providing wireless connections to user equipment within a geographical area, the macro cell base station including charging ports for assigned child drones.

[0025] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a wireless cellular network comprising: a fleet of drones; a plurality of fixed macro cell base stations; and computer apparatus for operating the fleet of drones to support the wireless cellular network.

[0026] Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and / or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all examples and / or features of any example can be combined in any way and / or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and / or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0027] One or more embodiments of the invention are shown schematically, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0028] Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of an example computer apparatus for use in operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of an example macro cell base station for use in operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of an example drone of a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of part of a wireless cellular network including a fleet of drones to support the wireless cellular network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of an example of a macro cell base station supported by two drones moving to locations in the cell based on drone despatch instructions, and responsive to drone resources;

[0033] Figure 6 is a flowchart of an example method of operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 7 is a flowchart of an example of a method of operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network based on generated drone despatch instructions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 8 is a flowchart of an example of a method of initially assigning one or more drones of a fleet of drones to pair to parent base stations;

[0036] Figure 9 is a flowchart of an example of a method of re-assigning a fleet of drones based on updated information;

[0037] Figure 10 is a flowchart of an example of a method of controlling a fleet of drones to provide ad hoc wireless connections to support a wireless cellular network;

[0038] Figure 11 is a flowchart of an example of a method of controlling at least one drone to perform hardware inspection or information collection;

[0039] Figure 12 is a flowchart of an example of a method of controlling at least one drone to enter a charging mode; and

[0040] Figure 13 is a flowchart of an example of a method of controlling a first drone to return to a parent base station to enter a charging mode.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be appreciated that the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments, and all changes and / or equivalents or replacements thereto also belong to the scope of the disclosure. The same or similar reference denotations may be used to refer to the same or similar elements throughout the specification and the drawings.

[0042] As used herein, the terms “have,” “may have,” “include,” or “may include” a feature (e.g., a number, function, operation, or a component such as a part) indicate the existence of the feature and do not exclude the existence of other features.

[0043] As used herein, the terms “A or B,” “at least one of A and / or B,” or “one or more of A and / or B” may include all possible combinations of A and B. For example, “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one of A or B” may indicate all of (1 ) including at least one A, (2) including at least one B, or (3) including at least one A and at least one B.

[0044] As used herein, the terms “first” and “second” may modify various components regardless of importance and do not limit the components. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. For example, a first user device and a second userdevice may indicate different user devices from each other regardless of the order or importance of the devices. For example, a first component may be denoted a second component, and vice versa without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0045] It will be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being (operatively or communicatively) “coupled with / to,” or “connected with / to” another element (e.g., a second element), it can be coupled or connected with / to the other element directly or via a third element. In contrast, it will be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being “directly coupled with / to” or “directly connected with / to” another element (e.g., a second element), no other element (e.g., a third element) intervenes between the element and the other element.

[0046] As used herein, the terms “configured (or set) to” may be interchangeably used with the terms “suitable for,” “having the capacity to,” “designed to,” “adapted to,” “made to,” or “capable of” depending on circumstances. The term “configured (or set) to” does not essentially mean “specifically designed in hardware to.” Rather, the term “configured to” may mean that a device can perform an operation together with another device or parts.

[0047] For example, the term “processor configured (or set) to perform A, B, and C” may mean a generic-purpose processor (e.g., a CPU or application processor) that may perform the operations by executing one or more software programs stored in a memory device or a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor) for performing the operations.

[0048] The terms as used herein are provided merely to describe some embodiments thereof, but not to limit the scope of other embodiments of the disclosure. It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “'an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. All terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments of the disclosure belong. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. In some cases, the terms defined herein may be interpreted to exclude embodiments of the disclosure.

[0049] As used herein, "base station" refers to a network node comprised in a wireless cellular network (which can also be referred to as a Radio Access Network (RAN)) for providing, via one or more antennae, cells of radio coverage in which a wireless radio connection to user equipment may be established. The Base Station may comprise a base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller(BSC), radio network controller (RNC), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multistandard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), and suchlike. Each base station provides one or more cells of a radio communications system within which wireless radio connections can be established between the base stations and user equipment. Each base station may support voice and data communication by one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs), such as UMTS, LTE and 5G NR. The cells provided by each base station are roughly designated as land areas of coverage arranged as sectors emanating from radio antennas arranged at the base station. User equipment located in the cells in which coverage is provided can gain network access by establishing a radio connection with the base station providing the cell. The Radio Access Network can provide access through a Core Network to other networks such as the public Internet, and can allow voice and data communication with other user equipment in the Radio Access Network.

[0050] As used herein, "wireless cellular network" refers to a network of base stations arranged to support radio communications within one or more cells emanating therefrom implementing one or more Radio Access Technologies to establish wireless radio connections to user equipment to enable them to communicate with the core network and other connected networks via the base stations.

[0051] As used herein, "cell" refers to the area of signal coverage a base station provides, within which it is intended that user equipment can establish a wireless radio connection to the base station. The cell is typically formed as a sector emanating from the antenna at the base station, with the nominal radius of the coverage area depending on a range of intrinsic factors including the frequency band, the Radio Access Technology, and antenna and base station configuration and power, and on extrinsic factors such as the topology, man-made structures and atmospheric conditions. The nominal coverage provided by a cell may differ from the location and distance distribution of user equipment actually establishing a connection with the base station. For example, in an urban environment the density of users may be such that a large number of user equipment are densely located near the base station (e.g. within 1 -2 km) such that the majority of the connections are well within the nominal coverage area (which may be e.g. around 12 km for LTE 2100 MHz band). However, connections with user equipment beyond this nominal distance may be established if the user equipment receives a sufficiently strong signal from the base station. Generally, the further away from a base station, the lower the signal strength, the more unstable the signal and the lower the bandwidth. As such the “coverage” a base station can provide within different locations throughout a cell in terms of the number and stability of wireless connections and the data and voice throughput that can be supported thereby depends on a number of localfactors including user demand, topology, the built environment, weather, etc, and is thus subject to change. This can lead to variable user experience and unfulfilled user demand, falling below desired or expected quality of service.

[0052] As used herein, "user equipment" refers to any suitable mobile or stationary device that can transmit and receive wireless communication signals and can form wireless connections with a base station of a wireless cellular network, to thereby conduct voice and data communications through a core network of the wireless cellular network with other user equipment and nodes within the network, or with external networks such as the Internet. UEs can be embodied by any of a number of types of devices including but not limited to printed circuit (PC) cards, compact flash devices, external or internal modems, wireless phones, smartphones, tablets, tracking devices, asset tags, and so on.

[0053] As used herein, “macro cell base station” means a typically high power base station installed at a fixed location, typically planned in accordance with a network plan, to provide dedicated higher capacity coverage for forming wireless connections with user equipment over a wide geographical area, typically up to on the order of 10 km, depending on the Radio Access Technology.

[0054] As used herein, “small cell base station” means a typically lower power base station, which in the context of the present disclosure are installed on drones and thus mobile, to provide dedicated local coverage for forming wireless connections with user equipment over a relatively smaller geographical area, typically on the order of 100m-1 km, depending on the radio access technology.

[0055] As used herein, “drone” refers to any unmanned aerial vehicle, untethered and self- powered, that is able to manoeuvre to and typically maintain position at desired aerial locations, typically navigating autonomously, for a duration of time. In the context of the present disclosure, the drones referenced herein may typically be commercial-grade close range UAVs able to travel distances on the order of tens of kilometres, maintaining flight on full charge for a time on the order of hours, and capable of supporting the payload of a self- powered small cell base station.

[0056] Reference will now be made to Figure 4, which shows a schematic illustration of part of a wireless cellular network 400 including a fleet of drones 402a-c to support the wireless cellular network 400 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0057] The wireless cellular network 400 includes a plurality of fixed macro cell base stations 401 a-b (only two of which are shown) located at cell sites throughout a geographical area.

[0058] User equipment 403a-403k are spread throughout the geographic region, used by users having subscriptions to an operator of the wireless cellular network to establish wireless connections to the wireless cellular network 400 to achieve voice and data communications with, for example, the Internet. Demand for wireless connections follows the distribution of users in the geographic region.

[0059] To establish a wireless connection, each user equipment 403a-403i performs a cell search and signal acquisition procedure in accordance with one or more Radio Access Technologies to determine any base stations (such as macro cell base stations 401 a-b or drone 402a-402c) from which the user equipment 403a-403i can receive sufficient signal to establish a connection at their current location. In this connection establishment process, the base station with which the user equipment 403a-403i establishes a connection in the form of a radio bearer allocates radio resources to the particular user equipment by which the user equipment and the base station can transfer data in the uplink and downlink channels.

[0060] As can be seen, macro cell base station 401 a provides a macro cell 405a on the order of 10km in length within which the base station 401 a is capable of providing wireless connections to user equipment, such as user equipment 403j. Similarly, macro cell base station 401 b provides a macro cell 405b on the order of 10km in length within which the base station 401 b is capable of providing wireless connections to user equipment, such as user equipment 403k.

[0061] However, there may be areas within the macro cells where the demand from user equipment for wireless connections exceeds the capacity or signal strength that can be provided by the macro cell base stations. This may be in areas of low signal strength due to local topology or near the edges of the macro cell, or due to dynamic variations in demand, such as high traffic at peak times, or due to specific events.

[0062] In this regard a fleet of drones including drones 402a-402c is provided to support the wireless cellular network 400 by providing ad hoc wireless connections to supplement the macro cell base stations 401 a, 401 b. Each of the drones 402a-402c is configured to be capable of pairing with a macro cell base station and thereby forming a wireless connection with the base station for wireless backhaul of data to from the ad hoc connections with user equipment back to the macro cell base station. Each of the drones 402a-402c is thus configured to act as a mobile airborne small cell base station to provide ad hoc wireless connections to user equipment within the small cell coverage area provided thereby. For example, macro cell base station 401 a is supplemented by wirelessly connected paired child drones 402a and 402b. Drone 402a is located at an edge of the macro cell 405a and providesan additional small cell coverage area 407a extending beyond the range of the range of the macro cell 405a, in which it has formed ad hoc wireless connections with user equipment 403a-c. Drone 402a is located at an edge of the macro cell 405a and provides an additional small cell coverage area 407a extending beyond the range of the range of the macro cell 405a, in which it has formed ad hoc wireless connections with user equipment 403a-c. Drone 402b is located at a high traffic region within the macro cell 405a and provides an additional small cell coverage area 407b to meet the capacity requirements of the user equipment within the macro cell 405a, in which it has formed ad hoc wireless connections with user equipment 403d-f.

[0063] Similarly, macro cell base station 401 b is supplemented by wirelessly connected paired child drone 402c which provides an additional small cell coverage area 407c within the macro cell 405b, in which it has formed ad hoc wireless connections with user equipment 403g-i.

[0064] The drones 402a-402c form part of a fleet of drones that can move around within the geographical area, within the same macro cell or between macro cells, and form parent-child wireless connections with different macro base stations, responsive to the needs of the user equipment seeking access to the wireless communications network.

[0065] The macro cell base stations 401 a-b may act as landing and charging points for the drones 402a-402c, so that each drone can return to a base station when its charge is becoming depleted and recharge to return to service.

[0066] The control of the drones responsive to the needs of the wireless cellular network and the available drone resources is governed by a drone controller 404 which is communicatively coupled to the base stations 401 a-b for communication with the wireless cellular network 400 and the fleet of drones.

[0067] In the embodiment, the drone controller 404 may be implemented as a centralised drone controller by a computer apparatus 100 as shown in Figure 1. However, as will be understood herein, the drone controller 404 may be implemented in a distributed manner to operate, for example, across a centralised computer apparatus 100 as shown in Figure 1 , and / or one or more macro cell base stations 200 as shown in Figure 2, and / or one or more drones 300 as shown in Figure 3.

[0068] In this regard, Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of an example computer apparatus 100 for operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network.

[0069] The computer apparatus 100 comprises one or more processors 101 , memory 102 storing instructions to be executed by one or more of the processors 101 , and a input / outputmodule 103 for communicating with one or more devices in a wireless cellular network, such as base stations 200, drones 300 or user equipment, for receiving quality and drone fleet status data for processing, and for transmitting drone despatch instructions generated by the computer apparatus 100.

[0070] A bus system (not shown) may be provided which supports communication between at the least one processor 101 , memory 102 and input / output module 103. The processor 101 can include any suitable number(s) and type(s) of processors or other devices in any suitable arrangement. Example types of processor 101 include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, field programmable gate arrays and application specific integrated circuits.

[0071] The memory 102 may be provided by any structure(s) capable of storing and facilitating retrieval of information (such as data, program code, and / or other suitable information on a temporary or permanent basis). The memory 102 can represent a random access memory or any other suitable volatile or non-volatile storage device(s). The memory 102 may also contain one or more components or devices supporting longer-term storage of data, such as a read only memory, hard drive, flash memory, or optical disc, which may store software code for loading into the memory 102 at runtime. In use, the processor 101 and memory 102 may provide a runtime environment in which instructions or code loaded into the memory 102 can be executed by the processor 101 to generate instances of software modules in the runtime environment.

[0072] The instructions may be stored in memory 102 as computer program products or software for use in implementing the methods as described herein for operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network. The instructions may be such that, when executed by one or more of the processors 101 , software modules are implemented for performing one or more aspects of the methods described herein for processing received quality and drone fleet status data and generating drone despatch instructions.

[0073] In particular, the memory 102 may store instructions for implementing a centralized drone orchestrator module and a centralized performance assessment and geolocation module which, when executed, allow the computer apparatus 100 to perform operations as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0074] When the software modules are instantiated and operated, the computer apparatus 100 may implement the centralised drone controller 404 for example in a server in a Core Network of the wireless cellular network 400, or in a server outside the wireless cellular network 400 but connected to it via the Internet. Alternatively or in addition, the computer apparatus 100 may be provided in a distributed manner, for example in one or more macrocell base stations, in one or more drones of a fleet of drones, and / or in a dedicated device in the wireless cellular network 400 stored at an operations location, or any other suitable means, or spread across any combination thereof.

[0075] Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of an example macro cell base station 200 for serving a wireless cellular network comprising a plurality of macro cell base stations 200 located at cell sites throughout the geographical area for providing wireless connections to user equipment within the geographical area. The macro cell base station 200 comprises one or more processors 201 , a memory 202, an input / output module 203, a base station transceiver 204, and one or more charging docks 205 for providing a charging connection to one or more drones.

[0076] The memory 202 may store instructions which, when executed, allow the macro cell base station 200 to transmit, via the input / output module 203, data to the computer apparatus 100 acting as the drone controller 404, and receive instructions therefrom for controlling the drones. The input / output module 203 may provide a wired connection to the drone controller 404 via the Core Network and the Internet.

[0077] The base station transceiver 204 is configured to generate a macro cell of coverage within which it transmits voice and data to and receives voice and data from small cell base stations (e.g. as provided in the drones), user equipment, and any other suitable device that is capable of receiving communications from the macro cell base station 200. The transceiver 204 allows the macro cell base station 200 to form a wireless backhaul connection with a fleet of drones supporting a wireless cellular network.

[0078] Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of an example drone 300 of a fleet of drones supporting the wireless cellular network. The drone 300 comprises one or more processors 301 , a memory 302, a transceiver 303, a flight control module 304 a charging port 305, and a battery 306.

[0079] The memory 302 may store instructions which, when executed, allow the drone 300 to transmit, via the transceiver 303, data to the computer apparatus 100, and perform actions like pairing with a base station 200 to thereby form a wireless backhaul connection.

[0080] The transceiver 303 is configured generate a small cell of coverage within which it transmits data to and receives data from user equipment and other suitable devices. The transceiver 303 also allows the drone 300 to form a wireless backhaul connection with the macro cell base station 200.

[0081] The flight control module 304 is configured to control the drone 300 propulsion systems (not shown) to automatically navigate to locations indicated by geolocation data, aswell as to transmit geolocation data representing a current location of the drone 300 to a drone controller 404.

[0082] The charging port 305 is configured to connect with a charging dock 205 of the macro cell base station 200 and receive current to charge the battery 306 of the drone 300 that powers the propulsion systems (and optionally also the transceiver 303 and other drone systems).

[0083] Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of an example of a macro cell base station 401 providing a macro cell 405a supported by two paired drones 402a, 402b in which the drones dynamically move to locations within the macro cell to provide ad hoc wireless connections to user equipment, and also to manage their resources, such as charge.

[0084] Drone 402a is assigned by the drone controller 404 drone despatch instructions that are relayed to the drone 402a by the base station 401 and cause the flight control module 304 of the drone 402a to move to a corresponding geolocation (indicated by the hex 501 ) at the cell edge. Here, the drone 402a provides a small cell in which user equipment 403a and 403b located nearby.

[0085] The drone 402a replaces retiring drone 402b which has previously been located at the geolocation indicated by hex 501 , but which has expended the charge in its battery by staying airborne and acting as a small cell, and so has returned to the parent macro cell base station site 401 to dock and recharge. The drones 402a and 402b may have been despatched to and retired from the geolocation indicated by hex 501 by the drone controller 404 having analysed the updating drone resource data. Alternatively, or in addition, on time scales between the periodic data analysis and issuance of despatch instructions by the drone controller 404, the dynamic assignment and reassignment of drones to locations in the macro cell may be controlled by the base station 401 and / or the drones 402a and 402b themselves (or by the wider network of base stations and fleet of drones) responsive to changing drone resources, such as charge levels.

[0086] Reference will now be made to Figures 6 to 13 which set out methods of operating the fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. These methods may be implemented largely in, or entirely in, computing apparatus 100 shown in Figure 1 and operating under software control to act as a drone controller 404.

[0087] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of analysing quality data and drone resource data to dynamically generate despatch instructions for a fleet of drones 402a-402c to support a wireless cellular network 400.

[0088] At step 601 , the computer apparatus 100 receives quality data for the wireless cellular network 400. The quality data may include information concerning at least one of the signal strength, quality, available capacity and demand of the wireless connections to user equipment in the wireless cellular network 400 at locations throughout the geographical region.

[0089] The quality data is received at the drone controller 404 from various sources in the wireless cellular network, including from individual user equipment (relayed via the base stations), the fleet of drones 402a-402c, the macro cell base stations 200, or any combination thereof. The quality data may include information relating to measured signal levels (such as RSRP data measured by user equipment) for macro and small base stations, propagation delay between the user equipment and the base stations, the channel quality of uplink and or downlink communications, data throughput and cell utilization.

[0090] In more detail, the quality data may include information indicating areas in the geographical region in which signal strength and quality of the wireless connections to user equipment are acceptable or require additional support. The quality data may further include information indicating areas in the geographical region in which capacity to supply wireless connections to user equipment is limited or demand for the wireless connections to user equipment is higher than available capacity and therefore additional support is required.

[0091] Before being analysed for determining drone despatch instructions, the quality data may be pre-processed to locations throughout the geographic region requiring drone support. In examples, a centralized performance assessment and geolocation module implemented in software at the drone controller 404 may compile and analyse the received quality data to generate geolocation data identifying locations that require support for providing additional capacity and / or coverage extension. The centralized performance assessment and geolocation module implemented in the drone controller 404 may be a suitable neural network trained to process received quality data to generate geolocations requiring support. The geolocations may be represented as Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates.

[0092] At step 602, the computer apparatus 100 receives drone fleet status data including information concerning at least one of the location of each drone, the paired macro cell base station for each drone, and the battery status for each drone indicating remaining flight time.

[0093] In more detail, the battery status may indicate a length of time available for the drone to travel and perform functions before it is required to return to the paired parent base station 401 to charge its battery. Further, the drone fleet status data may be usable to determine a number of drones in an area around the locations indicated in the quality data as requiring support, an estimated flight time from each drone’s current location to the locations requiring support, and a remaining flight time for each drone which can be used to determine whetherthe drone would be able to travel to the locations requiring support and provide ad hoc coverage with the remaining charge.

[0094] The drone fleet status data is received at the drone controller 404 from the fleet of drones 402a-402c (relayed via the base stations) and / or from the base stations themselves.

[0095] At step 603, the computer apparatus 100 determines, based on the quality data indicating locations in the geographical area requiring ad hoc small cell coverage, and on the drone fleet status data relating the available drone resources in the geographical area, a set of drone despatch instructions for despatching drones in the fleet to provide ad hoc wireless connections to improve the coverage or capacity of the wireless cellular network 400 at locations in the geographical region.

[0096] In examples, a centralized drone orchestrator module implemented in software at the drone controller 404 may analyse the quality data (which may be pre-processed, for example to provide the geolocation information of locations requiring support) and drone fleet status data to determine a set of drone despatch instructions. The centralized drone orchestrator module may be a suitable neural network trained to process received quality data and drone fleet status data to generate an optimised a set of drone despatch instructions matching the available drone resources (based on drone location and charge) to the locations in the wireless cellular network 400 requiring drone support. The drone despatch instructions may be output as or processed to provide an array or matrix relating all the macro cell base stations in the wireless cellular network and all drones in the fleet, with a single assigned geolocation coordinate being generated for each drone to travel to, against the macro cell base station to which that drone is to be paired.

[0097] The drone controller may receive updated quality data and drone status data and update the drone instructions periodically, for one or for all drones, to enable a dynamic response. The operation of the drones on timescales shorter than those updates may be managed by the drones themselves and / or the base stations.

[0098] Thus, the quality data and the drone fleet status data can be used to determine a set of drone despatch instructions which can be used to despatch drones to indicated locations where ad hoc wireless connections are required to improved coverage or capacity of the wireless cellular network 400 using appropriate drones in the nearby area which have sufficient charge to provide the ad hoc wireless connections.

[0099] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating, in more detail, an example method of operating a fleet of drones 402a-402c to support a wireless cellular network 400 based on generated drone despatch instructions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0100] At step 701 , the drone despatch instructions may be received from the centralized drone orchestrator module and passed to a drone despatcher module implemented in the computing apparatus by software. Here, the drone despatcher module may process the drone despatch instructions, for example by converting a received drone despatch matrix to generate individual despatching and pairing instructions for each drone. Alternatively, the drone despatch instructions for all drones, such as the drone matrix, may be sent to the drones in the wireless cellular network.

[0101] Once these instructions are generated, at step 702, the drone despatcher module causes the instructions to be transmitted to the relevant drone in the fleet of drones 402a- 402c. The drone despatch instructions may include geolocation data representing a location for each drone in the fleet of drones 402a-402c to travel to, and a base station to pair to. The location for each drone may have been determined based on a shortest distance between an identified location requiring support and the nearest macro cell base station 200.Additionally, the geolocation data for one or more drones may be null, indicating that the drone should remain where it is (or no instructions are sent). The drone despatch instructions may include a command to control the drones to pair with a new parent macro cell base station 200. The drone despatch instructions may include a command to control the drones to retire and recharge, or perform other activities such as a signal quality or strength measurement, or a hardware inspection.

[0102] At step 703, in response to receiving the drone despatch instruction, each drone in the fleet of drones 402a-402c travels to the location indicated by the geolocation data assigned to that drone.

[0103] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of initially assigning one or more drones of the fleet of drones 202 to pair to macro cell base stations.

[0104] At step 801 , the computer apparatus 100 assigns, based on the drone despatch instructions and on the drone fleet status data, each drone as a child of a parent macro cell base station.

[0105] For example, the drone despatch instructions may indicate locations which require support. The fleet of drones 402a-402c may then be despatched based on relative need of each location. For example, a location which is identified as severely lacking in capacity may be assigned a larger number of drones than an area which is identified as somewhat lacking in capacity. This may be achieved by adding in the additional drones to the drone resource data, or by initialising the drone resource data based on the drones’ current locations.

[0106] At step 802, the computer apparatus 100 controls the drones to travel to their assigned parent base stations or locations parent base stations 200.

[0107] At step 803, the computer apparatus 100 controls the drones to pair with the assigned parent base station 200.

[0108] In more detail, there may be, for example, a command included in the drone despatch matrix which instructs the drones to pair with the assigned base station once they have arrived. The drones may pair with their assigned base station via the internet, Bluetooth, NFC or any other suitable means, or by directly forming the wireless backhaul connection.

[0109] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example method wherein quality data is periodically received by the computer apparatus 100.

[0110] At step 901 , the computer apparatus 100 periodically receives further quality data and drone fleet status data from the wireless cellular network 400.

[0111] In more detail, the wireless cellular network 400 may be continually or periodically collecting quality data and drone fleet status data, and periodically transmitting further quality data and drone fleet status data to the computer apparatus 100. The further quality data and drone fleet status data represents updated data which reflects the changes in, for the quality data, signal strength, quality, available capacity and demand of the wireless connections to user equipment in the wireless cellular network 400 at locations throughout the geographical region; and, for the drone fleet status data, changes in available drone resources in the geographical area. For example, the further quality data may indicate a change in signal quality in a location in the wireless cellular network 400. In a further example, the further drone fleet status may indicate changes in locations and battery status of the fleet of drones 402a- 402c. The drone fleet status information may be collected by receiving periodic status updates from each drone in the fleet. For example, at set times, each drone may transmit a status message indicating its current location, the identity and location of its paired parent macro cell base station, and its battery status. This status message may be transmitted, for example, to the parent base station 200,

[0112] This updated quality data and drone fleet status data may be transmitted to the drone controller 404 from the wireless cellular network 400. As in the method described above in relation to Figure 6, the drone controller may operate a centralized performance assessment and geolocation module to compile and analyse the quality data to determine geolocation data for locations in the macro cells needing support.

[0113] The geolocation data or the raw quality data may again be passed to a centralized drone orchestrator module which can compare received geolocation data indicating locations that require ad hoc wireless connections with drone fleet availability in nearby base stations and battery status of the drones. Based on this comparison, the centralized drone orchestratormodule may generate an updated set of a drone despatching instructions including geolocation data indicating a location for each drone to travel to.

[0114] For example, changes to signal strength, quality, available capacity and demand of the wireless connections to user equipment in the wireless cellular network 400 at locations throughout the geographical region, and changes in available drone resources in the geographical area may mean that the previous drone despatch instructions do not provide the most efficient or effective distribution of the fleet of drones 402a-402c throughout the geographical region. As such, based on the further quality data and drone fleet status data, an updated set of drone despatch instructions may be determined which may despatch drones to locations which have a new requirement for improved coverage or capacity and may move drones from locations which no longer have a requirement for ad hoc wireless connections provided by the drones. Where the requirements of the coverage change, some drones may need to move to support different macro cells and pair with the different base stations.

[0115] Where this happens in a drone despatch instructions update, at step 903, the computer apparatus 100 re-assigns, based on the updated set of drone despatch instructions, a plurality of drones to a new parent base station 200.

[0116] For example, the updated drone despatch instructions may indicate an area that previously required ad hoc wireless connections for improved coverage or capacity no longer requires the additional support while another area that previously did not require ad hoc wireless connections for improved coverage or capacity does now have a requirement for additional support. As such, drones from a macro cell base station in one area can be reassigned to a macro cell base station in another area.

[0117] At step 904, the computer apparatus 100 controls the re-assigned drones to unpair with their previously assigned parent base station 200.

[0118] At step 905, the computer apparatus 100 controls the re-assigned drones to travel to their newly assigned parent base station 200 (or to the relevant locations in their macro cell).

[0119] At step 906, the computer apparatus 100 controls the re-assigned drones to pair with the newly assigned parent base station 200.

[0120] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating use cases of the fleet of drones 402a-402c to provide ad hoc wireless connections to support a wireless cellular network.

[0121] At step 1001 , a network demand is identified in an identified location, based on quality data and drone fleet status data, as described above. The network demand is to be addressed by a drone providing ad hoc wireless connections to improve the coverage or capacity of the wireless cellular network 400 at the identified location.

[0122] At step 1002, at least one drone is controlled to travel to the identified location and provide ad hoc wireless connections to supplement the parent base station 200. The at least one drone travels from the paired parent base station 200 to the identified location and performs as a small cell base station, providing ad hoc wireless connections to user equipment at the identified location.

[0123] At step 1003, the network demand may be one identified at a location in an area outside of the network 400, the area being one for which coverage can be extended and the at least one drone is controlled to extend the coverage.

[0124] For example, user equipment 403a-403i present in a rural area which does not form part of a coverage area of the wireless cellular network 400 may wish to connect to the wireless cellular network 400 (the user equipment may be travelling through the area, or be temporarily staying in the area, for example). In this case, a network demand would be identified and at least one drone could be despatched to the identified location to provide ad hoc wireless connection to the user equipment until the network demand is satisfied (i.e., the user equipment has left the area).

[0125] At step 1004, the network demand may be one identified at a location in an area for which additional coverage is required (for example, within the coverage area of the macro base stations) and the at least one drone is controlled to provide additional coverage.

[0126] For example, in a rural area, an accident or other busy time may occur which means there are a larger number of user equipment than usual attempting to access the wireless cellular network 400. As such, demand may be greater than capacity in that location, or the quality of connection in the area may be low and require improvement during the busy time. In this case, a network demand would be identified and at least one drone could be despatched to the identified location to provide ad hoc wireless connections until the accident has been resolved and the increased demand is reduced to normal levels.

[0127] At step 1005, the network demand may be one identified in an area for which access demand by user equipment is higher than a predefined threshold and the at least one drone is controlled to provide additional coverage.

[0128] For example, in an urban location, an event such as a concert or sports game or the like may lead to a large increase in demand for connection to the wireless cellular network 400, wherein the large increase may lead to being greater than capacity at the location; the large increase may mean access demand by user equipment in the area is higher than the predefined threshold. In this case, a network demand would be identified and at least one drone could be despatched to the identified location to provide ad hoc wireless connections for the duration of the event until the increased demand is reduced to normal levels.

[0129] Figure 1 1 is a flowchart illustrating use cases of drones travelling to locations for additional purposes.

[0130] At step 1 101 , a drone travels to an identified location.

[0131] In more detail, at least one drone may receive geolocation data indicating an identified location by the centralized drone orchestrator in order to perform a function at the identified location. This instruction may be generated by the drone controller not to provide ad hoc wireless connections, but for a different purpose, such as a hardware inspection of a cell site, or to collect quality data.

[0132] At step 1 102, the drone may perform a hardware inspection, wherein the drone collects information concerning physical qualities of a macro cell base station at the identified location. The collected information may include photographs.

[0133] In more detail, the hardware inspection may include detecting or investigating reported faults or breakages of base stations and equipment in the area around the parent macro cell base station and in areas around neighbouring base stations. The hardware inspection may also include capturing photographs of faults or breakages of base stations and equipment in the area around the parent macro cell base station and in areas around neighbouring base stations. The at least one drone may transmit collected data and / or photographs to an operations and maintenance centre.

[0134] At step 1103, the drone may collect information concerning at least one of the signal strength, quality, available capacity and demand at the identified location.

[0135] At step 1 104, the drone transmits the collected information to the parent base station 201 or the drone controller 404 as quality data.

[0136] In more detail, at least one drone travels to the identified location and performs tests to collect data regarding signal strength and quality, as well as determining available capacity of wireless communication with the wireless cellular network 400 at the identified location and the current demand for wireless communication at the identified location. The at least one drone then transmits this collected information to the wireless cellular network 400 by transmitting it to either the parent base station 200 (which will relay the information to the centralized drone orchestrator) or directly to the drone controller 404.

[0137] Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating the process of a drone entering and ending a charging mode.

[0138] At step 1201 , the computer apparatus 100 controls at least one drone to enter a charging mode, wherein the charging mode is a mode in which a battery of the at least one drone is charged.

[0139] In more detail, the at least one drone may be controlled to enter a charging mode when the battery level of the at least one drone falls below a predefined threshold.

[0140] For example, if the at least one drone is away from the parent base station 200 (for example, while performing a function in the field), if the battery level of the at least one drone falls below the predefined threshold, the at least one drone may be controlled to travel back to the parent base station 200 and enter the charging mode. The at least one drone may charge at a charging port at the parent base station 200. The charging port may be wired or wireless.

[0141] In another example, if the at least one drone is a long way from the parent base station 200, such that the remaining battery level of the at least one drone would not be sufficient to allow the at least one drone to travel back to the parent base station 200, the at least one drone may be controlled to travel to the closest base station and enter the charging mode. Additional charging docking stations may be provided for the drones at locations in the geographic area away from the base stations.

[0142] In yet another example, if the at least one drone is travelling between base stations (for example, after being reassigned to a new parent base station 200) the at least one drone may be controlled to travel to nearby a base station to enter charge mode along the way to the destination base station.

[0143] This allows the drones of the fleet of drones 402a-402c to be more flexible in where they can travel as well as allowing the drones to be reassigned to base stations at a greater distance than the drones’ flight time when using only a single battery charge.

[0144] At step 1202, the charging mode is ended when the battery of the at least one drone is fully charged.

[0145] At step 1203, the charging mode is ended when a charge level of the at least one drone is above a predefined threshold and a network demand is identified.

[0146] In more detail, if a network demand is identified and the at least one drone is therefore required to perform as a small cell base station, the charging mode will end when the charge level of the at least one drone is above a predefined threshold. The predefined threshold may be a threshold at which the at least one drone has a charge level which is sufficient to allow the at least one drone to travel to an identified location and provide ad hoc wireless connection to user equipment in the area.

[0147] Figure 13 is a flowchart illustrating the process of a drone returning to a parent base station 200 to enter a charging mode.

[0148] At step 1301 , it is determined that a charge level of a first drone falls below a predefined threshold when performing a function while away from the parent base station 200.

[0149] At step 1302, the first drone transmits a low charge signal to the parent base station 200, wherein the low charge signal indicates a current location of the first drone and that the first drone will return to the parent base station 200.

[0150] In more detail, when the first drone is in the field performing a function (i.e. any of the functions described with reference to the Figures 7 to 12), away from the parent base station 200, and determines that its charge level has fallen below a predefined threshold, it transmits a low charge signal to the parent base station 200 indicating its current location and an indication that it will now travel back to the parent base station 200 to enter the charging mode. The predefined threshold may be a lowest charge level at which the first drone has sufficient charge to travel back to the parent base station 200. The indication of current location may be, for example, geolocation data such as GPS coordinates or any other suitable geolocation data.

[0151] At step 1303, the first drone travels to the parent base station 200 and enters the charging mode.

[0152] At step 1304, a second drone at the parent base station 200 travels to the location indicated in the low charge signal and performs the function of the first drone.

[0153] In more detail, upon receiving the low charge signal from the first drone, the parent base station 200, or alternatively the drone controller 404, controls a second drone at the parent base station 200 to travel to the location indicated in the low charge signal (i.e., the location of the first drone when the charge of the first drone fell below the predefined threshold) and to resume the function that the first drone was performing.

[0154] Alternatively, if there are no drones remaining at the parent base station 200, the parent base station 200 may send a signal to the drone controller 404. The drone controller 404may then issue drone despatch instructions to a drone paired to another base station to travel to the location indicated in the low charge signal, pair with the new base station and resume the function that the first drone was performing.

[0155] Features, integers, characteristics or groups described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment or example of the invention are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example described herein unless incompatible therewith. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and / or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where atleast some of such features and / or steps are mutually exclusive. The invention is not restricted to the details of any foregoing embodiments. The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed. In particular, any dependent claims may be combined with any of the independent claims and any of the other dependent claims.

Claims

Claims:1 . A method of operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network comprising a plurality of fixed macro cell base stations located at cell sites throughout a geographical area for providing wireless connections to user equipment within the geographical area, each drone capable of pairing with a macro cell base station, BTS, and acting as a mobile airborne small cell base station to provide ad hoc wireless connections to supplement the macro cell base stations, with wireless backhaul back to the paired macro cell base station, the method comprising: receiving quality data for the wireless cellular network, wherein the quality data includes information concerning at least one of the signal strength, quality, available capacity and demand of the wireless connections to user equipment in the wireless cellular network at locations throughout the geographical region; receiving drone fleet status data including information concerning at least one of the location of each drone, the paired macro cell base station for each drone, the battery status for each drone indicating remaining flight time; and determining, based on: the quality data indicating locations in the geographical area requiring ad hoc small cell coverage; and the drone fleet status data relating the available drone resources in the geographical area; a set of drone despatch instructions for despatching drones in the fleet to provide ad hoc wireless connections to improve the coverage or capacity of the wireless cellular network at locations in the geographical region.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: assigning, based on the drone despatch instructions and on the drone fleet status data each drone as a child of a parent macro cell base station; and controlling the drones to: travel to their assigned parent base stations; and pair with the assigned parent base station.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: periodically receiving further quality data and drone fleet status data from the wireless cellular network; determining, based on the further quality data and drone fleet status data, an updated set of drone despatch instructions; re-assigning, based on the updated set of drone despatch instructions, a plurality of drones to a new parent BTS; and controlling the re-assigned drones to: unpair with their previously assigned parent BTS; travel to their assigned parent base station; and pair with the assigned parent BTS.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: identifying, based on the quality data, a network demand in an identified location; controlling at least one drone to travel to the identified location and provide ad hoc wireless connections to supplement the parent BTS.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein when the network demand is in an identified area outside of the wireless cellular network to which coverage can be extended, the at least one drone extends the coverage of the wireless cellular network by providing ad hoc wireless connection for user equipment attempting to access the wireless cellular network.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein when the network demand is in an identified area of the mobile network surrounding a parent BTS for which additional coverage is required, the at least one drone provides additional coverage of the wireless cellular network by providing ad hoc wireless connection for wireless communication user equipment attempting to access the wireless cellular network.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein when the network demand is in an identified area of the wireless cellular network in the area surrounding a parent BTS for which access demand by user equipment is higher than a predefined threshold, the at least one drone provides additional coverage of the wireless cellular network by providing ad hoc wireless connection for wireless communication user equipment attempting to access the wireless cellular network.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the quality data is collected by controlling a drone to: travel to an identified location and collect information concerning at least one of the signal strength, quality, available capacity and demand at the identified location; and transmit the collected information to the parent BTS or a centralized drone orchestrator.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising controlling a drone to: travel to an identified location; and perform a hardware inspection, wherein the drone collects information concerning physical qualities of a macro cell base station; wherein the collected information includes photographs.

10. The method of claim 4, further comprising: controlling the at least one drone to enter a charging mode; wherein the charging mode is a mode in which a battery of the at least one drone is charged.11 . The method of claim 10, wherein the charging mode is ended when the battery of the at least one drone is fully charged or the charge level of the at least one drone is above a predefined threshold and a network demand is identified.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein when the charge level of a drone falls below a predefined threshold when travelling between parent base stations, the drone travels to the nearest parent BTS and enters a charging mode.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein when a charge level of a first drone falls below a predefined threshold when performing a function while away from the parent BTS, the method further comprises: controlling the first drone to: transmit a low charge signal to the parent BTS, wherein the low charge signal indicates a current location of the first drone and that the first drone will return to the parent BTS; travel to the parent BTS; and enter a charging mode; and controlling a second drone at the parent BTS to: travel to the location indicated in the low charge signal; and perform the function of the first drone.

14. Computer apparatus for operating a fleet of drones to support a wireless cellular network comprising a plurality of fixed macro cell base stations located at cell sites throughout a geographical area for providing wireless connections to user equipment within the geographical area, each drone capable of pairing with a macro cell base station, BTS, and acting as a mobile airborne small cell base station to provide ad hoc wireless connections to supplement the macro cell base stations, with wireless backhaul back to the paired macro cell base station, the computing apparatus comprising: one or more processors; memory storing instructions which, when executed by one or more of the processors, cause the computing apparatus to: receive quality data for the wireless cellular network, wherein the quality data includes information concerning at least one of the signal strength, quality, available capacity and demand of the wireless connections to user equipment in the wireless cellular network at locations throughout the geographical region; receive drone fleet status data including information concerning at least one of the location of each drone, the paired macro cell base station for each drone, the battery status for each drone indicating remaining flight time; and determine, based on:the quality data indicating locations in the geographical area requiring ad hoc small cell coverage; and the drone fleet status data relating the available drone resources in the geographical area; a set of drone despatch instructions for despatching drones in the fleet to provide ad hoc wireless connections to improve the coverage or capacity of the wireless cellular network at locations in the geographical region.

15. Computer apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein one or more of the processors for executing the instructions is provided in one or more of the drones, one or more of the macro cell base stations, and / or one or more servers communicatively coupled to the wireless cellular network.

16. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by computing apparatus, cause the computing apparatus to carry out the method of any of claims 1 to 13.

17. A drone configured to support a wireless cellular network comprising a plurality of fixed macro cell base stations located at cell sites throughout a geographical area for providing wireless connections to user equipment within the geographical area, each drone capable of pairing with a macro cell base station, BTS, and acting as a mobile airborne small cell base station to provide ad hoc wireless connections to supplement the macro base stations, with wireless backhaul back to the paired macro cell base station.

18. A macro cell base station for providing wireless connections to user equipment within a geographical area, the macro cell base station including: charging ports for assigned child drones, each drone being as claimed in claim 17.

19. A wireless cellular network comprising: a fleet of drones, each drone being as claimed in claim 17; a plurality of fixed macro cell base stations as claimed in claim 18; and computer apparatus for operating the fleet of drones to support the wireless cellular network, the computer apparatus being as claimed in claim 14 or 15.

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