Abstract— We consider the performance of underwater acoustic ad-hoc networks. We assume a uniform distribution of the nodes over a finite area. The node-to-node channel is modeled through the Ricean fading model. We adopt a communication theoretic approach and study the interdependence of the sustainable number of hops through the network, end-to-end frame error probability, power and bandwidth allocation and operating frequency. We find that the network connectivity, given by the sustainable number of hops, exhibits a bimodal behavior. We present numerical examples that illustrate the results of the analysis.