Novel Algorithms for Efficient Exploration of the Trade-Off Between Cell Count, Coverage and Capacity in Wireless Networks

The ability to design and optimize a wireless network is critical to equipment and networking services providers such as Lucent Technologies. To compete successfully, network designers must understand the trade-offs between network coverage, capacity, and cost and be able to efficiently find a competitive design that prioritizes these different elements according to customer needs. In this paper, we develop and compare novel cell site selection algorithms that maximize network performance while minimizing cell count and associated costs. We discuss how these trade-offs can be explored by tailoring algorithms to seek solutions that emphasize either capacity or coverage and balance these objectives with cost. We consider the algorithms utility by applying them to a realistic example of a technology upgrade and network overlay and find that these algorithms enable an efficient exploration of the design trade-offs.