A tabu search algorithm for the global planning problem of third generation mobile networks

In this paper, we propose a tabu search (TS) algorithm for the global planning problem of third generation (3G) universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) networks. This problem is composed of three NP-hard subproblems: the cell, the access network and the core network planning subproblems. Therefore, the global planning problem consists in selecting the number, the location and the type of network nodes (including the base stations, the radio network controllers, the mobile switching centers and the serving GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) support nodes) as well as the interconnections between them. After describing our metaheuristic, a systematic set of experiments is designed to assess its performance. The results show that quasi-optimal solutions can be obtained with the proposed approach.