Handoff and roaming: As UAVs move in and out of
range of various communication gateways, appropriate
and timely handoff and roaming strategies must be used
to ensure seamless switching between cells.
Throughput: This is also an important component that
needs to be considered in light of the data traffic that
is required to be supported by the UAV-based network.
High throughput and data rates are essential for high
quality imagery and video, while lower data rates can be
tolerated when the data that is being exchanged is more
limited such as pure command and control or telemetric
sensor data. In such case, while high data rates are not
essential, low delay becomes critical for such real-time
data traffic.