A Novel Programming Model and Optimisation Algorithms for WCDMA Networks

To obtain a good trade-off between accuracy and the computational load of WCDMA (wideband code-division multiple access) network planning and optimisation, link-level performance factors such as the impact of soft handover and fast power control need to be taken into account in system-level simulations. However, they have not been investigated together in previous works. In this paper, we propose a mixed integer programming model considering these factors in both uplink and downlink, and present optimisation strategies based on three meta-heuristics, namely simulated annealing (SA), evolutionary SA (ESA) and variable neighbourhood search (VNS). The base station location problem is modelled as a simplified p-median problem. Experimental results are provided to compare the performance of different algorithms with respect to the solution quality and the level of robustness.