A GRAPHICAL NETWORK PLANNING TOOL FOR GSM AND OTHER CELLULAR NETWORKS

by Burak Grkemli B.S. in Computer Engineering, stanbul Technical University, 1997

Submitted to the Institute for Graduate Studies in Science and Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Engineering

Boazii University 2002

ii

A GRAPHICAL NETWORK PLANNING TOOL FOR GSM AND OTHER CELLULAR NETWORKS

APPROVED BY:

Assoc. Prof. Cem Ersoy (Thesis Supervisor)

............................

Assoc. Prof. Taner Bilgi

............................

Prof. M. Ufuk alayan

............................

DATE OF APPROVAL

............................

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank to my thesis supervisor Assoc. Prof. Cem Ersoy for his kind support and patience. Without his guidance, it would be impossible for me to finish this thesis. I would also like to thank to Prof. M. Ufuk alayan and Assoc. Prof. Taner Bilgi for their participation in my thesis jury. I particularly want to thank to my family and Il Temizer for their love, support and encouragement.

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ABSTRACT

A GRAPHICAL NETWORK PLANNING TOOL FOR GSM AND OTHER CELLULAR NETWORKS

The wireless telecommunications industry has undergone explosive growth in the last decade. Radio spectrum has become severely congested. Good network design is no longer a nicety, but rather a necessity. It is a prerequisite for workable, cost-effective wireless systems. Frequency planning is a key point in cellular network design, and available frequencies should be assigned to cells in a manner that the capacity requirement of each cell is met. This is rather a hard task because the number of available frequencies is limited, and frequencies should be reused in different cells, which leads to loss of quality of communication links due to interference between the reused frequencies. In this thesis, we tried to come up with a graphical network planning tool, by which the user will be able to create a wireless cellular network, together with the wired structure, make frequency assignment both manually and automatically using a specific algorithm, examine the results of the assignment performed and view the wired structure created. Additionally, we added an XML based interface to the tool so that the tool can import design results of other programs that do not support graphics, in order to display the results graphically. Thus, the tool can also be used as a graphical presentation program for other design tools that concentrate on the design problem itself rather than its presentation.

ZET

GSM VE DER HCRESEL ALAR N GRAFKSEL BR A PLANLAMA ARACI

Kablosuz haberleme endstrisi son on ylda ok byk bir gelime gsterdi. Radyo tayf ok fazla doldu. yi bir a tasarm artk incelikten ok gereklilik haline geldi. Bu, alabilir ve dk masrafl kablosuz sistemler iin bir n art oldu. Frekans planlama hcresel a tasarmnda anahtar noktadr, ve mevcut frekanslar hcrelere her hcrenin kapasite gereksinimleri karlanacak ekilde atanmaldr. Bu zor bir itir; nk mevcut frekans says limitlidir ve frekanslar atama srasnda tekrar kullanlmaldr, ki bu da tekrar kullanlan frekanslar arasndaki karm nedeniyle haberleme hatlarnda kalite kaybna sebep olur. Bu almada kullancnn kablolama altyapsyla beraber, kablosuz hcresel bir a yaratabilecei, hem el ile, hem de bir algoritmaya gre otomatik olarak frekans atamas yapabilecei, yaplan atamann sonularn inceleyebilecei ve yaratlan kablolama altyapsn grebilecei grafiksel bir a planlama arac gelitirmeye altk. Ayrca, grafik desteklemeyen dier programlarn tasarm sonularn alp grafiksel olarak gsterebilmek iin programa XML temelli bir arayz ekledik. Bylece program, tasarm probleminin sunumundan ok problemin kendisi zerinde younlam tasarm programlar iin grafiksel bir sunum arac olarak da kullanlabilir.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................... iv ZET......................................................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................ viii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. xii LIST OF SYMBOLS/ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................ xiii 1. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................1 2. WIRELESS CELLULAR NETWORKS ........................................................................4 2.1. 2.2. Frequency Reuse ...................................................................................................4 Channel Allocation Schemes.................................................................................8 2.2.1. 2.2.2. 2.2.3. 2.2.4. Fixed Channel Allocation (FCA) .............................................................9 Dynamic Channel Allocation (DCA).....................................................13 Hybrid Channel Allocation (HCA) ........................................................15 Comparisons between FCA and DCA ...................................................15

3. FREQUENCY ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM ................................................................17 3.1. Parameters ...........................................................................................................17 3.2. Problem Formulation...........................................................................................22 4. SOLUTION METHODS...............................................................................................24 4.1. Calculation of Objective and Constraint Functions.............................................24 4.2. Simulated Annealing Algorithm..........................................................................25 4.3. Reuse Pattern Algorithm .....................................................................................27 4.4. Greedy Search Algorithm....................................................................................28 5. COMPUTATIONAL EXPERIMENTS ........................................................................30 5.1. Base Problem.......................................................................................................30 5.2. Effect of Some Parameters and Design Decisions ..............................................31 5.2.1. 5.2.2. 5.3. Effect of Call Arrival Rate .....................................................................31 Effect of Cell Size ..................................................................................33

Demonstration of Results ....................................................................................36

vii 6. NETWORK PLANNING TOOL ..................................................................................38 6.1. The Usage............................................................................................................38 6.1.1. 6.1.2. 6.1.3. 6.1.4. 6.1.5. 6.1.6. 6.1.7. 6.1.8. 6.1.9. 6.2. 6.3. Creating Cells.........................................................................................38 Creating the Wired Structure, MSCs and BSCs.....................................43 Modifying the Properties of Geographical Structures ...........................47 Creating Frequency Groups ...................................................................48 Modifying Guard Channels....................................................................49 Assigning the Frequency Groups to Cells..............................................50 Creating the Location Areas...................................................................52 Viewing the Assignment ........................................................................54 Results ....................................................................................................58

Interacting with Third Party Tools, XML ...........................................................60 Extending NPT ....................................................................................................63 6.3.1. 6.3.2. Adding New Parameters ........................................................................63 Adding New Algorithms ........................................................................64 Hardware and Software Requirements...................................................65 Development Tools ................................................................................65 Program Files .........................................................................................65 Overview of the Commercial Products ..................................................68 Comparison ............................................................................................69

6.4.

Implementation Details .......................................................................................65 6.4.1. 6.4.2. 6.4.3.

6.5.

Comparison with Commercial Products..............................................................68 6.5.1. 6.5.2.

7. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK......................................................................71 REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................72

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1. Figure 2.1. Figure 3.1. Figure 3.2. Figure 3.3. Figure 3.4. Figure 4.1. Figure 4.2. Figure 4.3. Figure 4.4. Figure 5.1. Figure 5.2. Figure 5.3. Figure 6.1. Figure 6.2.

GSM 900/1800/1900 subscribers .....................................................................1 Cellular layout with cluster size seven .............................................................6 Map that NPT uses .........................................................................................17 Cell properties dialog window........................................................................19 Hexagonal cellular layout drawn by NPT ......................................................20 Frequency group creation window .................................................................21 Flowchart of the SA Algorithm......................................................................26 SA parameter window ....................................................................................27 RP parameter window ....................................................................................28 GS parameter window ....................................................................................29 Minimum SIR versus average lambda ...........................................................32 Maximum probability of blocking versus lambda weight..............................33 Minimum SIR versus number of cells............................................................34 NPT main window, zoomed-out to display the entire map ............................39 Window displayed when the mouse is right-clicked......................................39

ix Figure 6.3. Figure 6.4. Figure 6.5. Figure 6.6. Figure 6.7. Figure 6.8. Figure 6.9. Adding a cell manually...................................................................................40 Edit J Layout menu.......................................................................................41 Hexagonal layout window..............................................................................41 Cells that are created according to hexagonal pattern ....................................42 Umbrella cell ..................................................................................................43 View menu......................................................................................................44 Viewing the wired structure, with map and layout views disabled................45

Figure 6.10. MSC information window..............................................................................46 Figure 6.11. BSC information window...............................................................................46 Figure 6.12. Cell information window................................................................................47 Figure 6.13. Geographic structures window .......................................................................48 Figure 6.14. Frequency group creation/view window ........................................................49 Figure 6.15. Guard channels window .................................................................................49 Figure 6.16. Edit J Assign menu.......................................................................................50 Figure 6.17. Simulated annealing parameter window ........................................................50 Figure 6.18. Greedy search parameter window ..................................................................51 Figure 6.19. Reuse pattern parameter window ...................................................................52

x Figure 6.20. Location area creation/view window..............................................................52 Figure 6.21. Assigned location areas are displayed with distinct colors ............................53 Figure 6.22. Location area details window.........................................................................54 Figure 6.23. Frequency details window..............................................................................54 Figure 6.24. Assigned frequency groups displayed on map by colors ...............................55 Figure 6.25. Probability of blocking classes window .........................................................56 Figure 6.26. Probability of blocking for each cell is displayed by a color .........................56 Figure 6.27. SIR classes window........................................................................................57 Figure 6.28. Minimum SIR for each cell is displayed by a color .......................................57 Figure 6.29. Cell information window................................................................................58 Figure 6.30. Results menu ..................................................................................................59 Figure 6.31. SIR results window.........................................................................................59 Figure 6.32. Probability of blocking results window..........................................................59 Figure 6.33. XML based import/export file structure.........................................................60 Figure 6.34. Frequencies, frequency groups and location areas exposed...........................61 Figure 6.35. Cell properties given in the import/export file ...............................................62 Figure 6.36. The BSC and MSC exposed ...........................................................................63

xi Figure 6.37. Adding new parameters with xtparam tag......................................................64

xii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1. Table 2.2. Table 2.3. Table 2.4. Table 2.5. Table 2.6. Table 3.1. Table 3.2. Table 5.1. Table 5.2. Table 5.3. Table 5.4. Table 5.5.

Comparisons between BFA, SBR, BA and BAR...........................................11 Channel borrowing schemes...........................................................................11 Comparisons between BCO, BDCL and FCA ...............................................13 Comparisons between FCA, CARB and ODCA............................................13 Comparisons between the FCA schemes .......................................................13 Comparisons between FCA and DCA............................................................16 Decision parameters .......................................................................................21 User supplied parameters ...............................................................................22 Geographical structure parameters for the base problem ...............................30 Parameters of the base problem......................................................................31 The cost and the constraint values for the base problem................................31 Numbers of cells versus average call arrival rates .........................................34 Results obtained with the SA, GS and RP algorithms....................................36

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LIST OF SYMBOLS/ABBREVIATIONS

Ac C CHc CHf CL COfg D Ffg FG FGc Hc Hm Ii M n N N0 P0 Pb,c Pb,max Pc Pr Q R Sc SIR SIRmin vm

Traffic intensity of cell c Total system cost Number of channels that are assigned to cell c Number of channels per frequency f Number of cells that are created via NPT Number of co-channel cells for the frequency group fg Distance between cell centers Number of frequencies per frequency group fg Number of frequency groups that are created via NPT Number of frequency groups that are assigned to cell c Mean call holding period in cell c Mean call holding period of geographical structure m Interference power caused by the ith interfering co-channel cell Geographical structures Path loss exponent Cluster size Environmental noise Mean received power at a small distance d0 Call blocking probability of cell c Maximum allowable call blocking probability Signal power of cell c transmitted Mean received power at a distance d Co-channel reuse ratio Radius of a cell The desired signal power of cell c Signal to interference ratio Minimum SIR value for sufficient voice quality Mean speed on geographical structure m

xiv

c m
AMPS BA BAR BCO BDCL BFA BSC CABR DCA FAP FCA GS GSM HCA ITU IMTS LA MSC MTS NPT ODCA RP SA SB SBR SHB SHCB XML

Call arrival rate in cell c Call arrival rate on geographical structure m Advanced mobile phone system Basic algorithm simple channel borrowing scheme Basic algorithm with reassignment simple channel borrowing scheme Borrowing with channel ordering hybrid channel borrowing scheme Borrowing with directional channel locking hybrid channel borrowing scheme Borrow first available simple channel borrowing scheme Base station controller Channel assignment with borrowing and reassignment hybrid channel borrowing scheme Dynamic channel allocation Frequency Assignment Problem Fixed channel allocation Greedy Search Global System for Mobile communications Hybrid channel allocation International Telecommunication Union Improved mobile telephone service Location area Mobile switching center Mobile telephone service Network planning tool Ordered dynamic channel assignment with rearrangement hybrid channel borrowing scheme Reuse pattern Simulated Annealing Simple channel borrowing scheme Borrow from the richest simple channel borrowing scheme Sharing with bias hybrid channel borrowing scheme Simple hybrid borrowing scheme Extensible Markup Language

1. INTRODUCTION

The development of cellular phone networks in the last decade has attracted the attention of the scientific community and influenced the whole society. Cellular phone networks, however, exist already more than 50 years. AT&T introduced MTS in 1946, which is the first commercial mobile telephone service, and developed IMTS afterwards, which is an improved version. In IMTS, 11 channels were available for all users within a geographic area, which led a subscriber limit of 545 in New York region. In the late 1970s AT&T and Motorola Inc. developed the advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), which was much more capable with 666 paired voice channels. The system, publicly introduced in 1983, had 200,000 subscribers after first year and 2,000,000 five years later [1]. In 1982 the Groupe Spcial Mobile (GSM) is created, which developed a new digital-based mobile communication standard that is in use commercially since 1992 [2]. The GSM system became successful, not only in Europe, but currently all around the world. By the end of June 2001 a total of 417 networks in 153 countries were serving 564.6 million GSM 900/1800/1900 subscribers [3]. Figure 1.2 displays the growth of GSM subscribers between December 1996 and December 2000.

Figure 1.1. GSM 900/1800/1900 subscribers [3]

2 All terrestrial cellular phone systems can be characterized by the following properties. They consist of a number of base stations that divide a geographic area into smaller areas, called cells. Each base station is essentially a radio communication center comprising radios, antennas and much supporting equipment, which operates on a certain frequency [1, 4]. A cellular phone within a cell is connected to the base station upon request via this frequency. A frequency used in a cell is reused in another cell, since the number of frequencies is far less from the number of subscribers. In GSM, two 25 MHz wide frequency bands are used, which lead to 124 frequencies, compared to millions of GSM subscribers. In Turkey, each of the two GSM 900 operators is given two 10 MHz wide frequency bands, resulting a total of 50 frequencies for each operator, which serve over 10 million GSM users [5, 6]. However, when two transmitters use the same carrier frequency, they may interfere, depending on the distance between transmitters/receivers, the geographical position of the transmitters, the power of the signal, the direction in which the signal is transmitted, and the weather conditions. High inference may result in loss of sound quality, call blocking, or even call dropping. Thus, a mobile operator should carefully choose the frequencies on which each base station transmits to avoid high interference levels, while maximizing capacity by reusing the available frequencies as much as possible. In this thesis, a graphical network planning tool (NPT) is developed for solving a given frequency assignment problem (FAP) in GSM and other cellular networks. The tool operates on a specific map, which is colored according to different types of geographical structures, which are formed by the underlying road types. Cells can be drawn on the map, either manually or automatically according to a predefined pattern. Frequencies, which are created by the user, are assigned to the cells by the optimization algorithm, which is an implementation of Simulated Annealing (SA) [7-9]. SA is a neighborhood search technique with incorporated probabilistic behavior. Hence, this technique combines the advantages of random search with the ones of greedy search. It basically starts with an initial feasible solution and tries to find better solutions. During the pace of the algorithm worse moves are accepted with a probability that decreases with time, which enables the algorithm to search beyond local minima. The choice of SA helped to obtain near optimum solutions since the problem consists of many local minima.

3 The frequency assignment results, such as assigned frequencies, blocking probabilities and signal-to-interference ratios can be displayed by the tool thorough colorization. Upon creation, frequencies are given distinct colors, which can be displayed on request. Different colors are given to blocking probability and signal-to-interference value ranges and these values for each cell can be displayed by colors. Furthermore, the assigned location area (LA) can be shown on the created layout via colorization. Besides the display of frequency assignment results and location areas, the underlying wired network, together with BSCs and MSCs can be shown on the map. For this, NPT gives user the ability to add, connect, move and remove BSCs and MSCs. The outline of the thesis is as follows: In the second section, properties of wireless cellular networks, like frequency reuse and channel assignment is given. Several channel assignment schemes, together with performance comparisons, are mentioned. The third section is dedicated to the formulation of the design problem. The decision parameters, constraints and assumptions are explained in this section. The objective function is given. The fourth section explains the solution technique in detail. The optimization algorithm, which is an implementation of SA, is given, together with the creation of neighborhood, the stopping criteria and the cooling schedule. Additionally, alternative solution techniques that are implemented in order to compare with the results of the SA are also described. The fifth section is for presenting the results of the experiments performed. The section comprises two different problems, in which the results of different assignment algorithms are compared, effects of input parameters and design decisions on the cost and constraint of the system. The sixth section explains the usage and implementation details of NPT. In the last section, the conclusion of the thesis is done and some further studies on the thesis are suggested.

2. WIRELESS CELLULAR NETWORKS

Early mobile radio systems were implemented through mounting a high-powered transmitter on a tall tower, thus achieving very good coverage at the cost of under-utilized spectrum usage. The radio spectrum, which is a scarce resource, was under-utilized, since high-powered transmitters hindered the reuse of the same frequencies throughout the system, because of interference. Thus, early systems served to a limited number of mobile users. For example, the Bell mobile system in New York City in the 1970s could only support a maximum of 20 simultaneous calls over 1000 square miles [10]. This limitation had been the primary motive for the system designers to come up with the cellular concept. Cellular concept is based on replacing the single, high powered transmitter with many low power transmitters, each providing coverage to only a small portion of the service area, which is called a cell. Each cell is allocated a portion of the radio frequencies available to the system, such that the same frequency group is assigned to cells separated by a sufficient distance, so as to minimize the interference between them. The method of using the same frequencies in the system over a distance is called frequency reuse. 2.1. Frequency Reuse Frequency reuse refers to the use of radio channels on the same carrier to cover different areas (i.e., cells), which are separated from one another by sufficient distances so that co-channel interference is not objectionable [11]. It is possible because of physical characteristics of the radio environment, where the average power received from a transmitter at any point decays as a power law of the distance of separation between the transmitter and the receiver. This can be expressed by the following equation [10]:
n

d Pr = P0 d 0

(2.1)

5 Pr is the average received power at distance d and P0 is the power at a small distance d0 from the transmitting antenna. The path loss exponent is represented by n, which typically ranges between two and four in urban cellular systems [12]. Signal-to-interference ratio (S/I or SIR) is defined to express the co-channel interference faced in frequency reuse, which is the ratio of the desired signal power to the sum of interfering co-channel signal powers. This ratio can be given by the equation below:
S

SIR =

I
i =1

(2.2)

+ N0

S is the desired signal power from the desired base station and Ii is the interference power caused by the ith interfering co-channel cell base station, where the total number of co-channel base stations is given by c and N0 represents the environmental noise. In order to reuse a channel, a minimum SIR value, which is pre-determined by SIRmin, should be reached for that specific channel. For the U.S. AMPS cellular system, which uses frequency modulation and 20 kHz channels, subjective tests show that sufficient voice quality is provided when SIRmin is 18 dB [10]. To achieve SIRmin value, different methods can be used. For example, the distance between co-channel cells can be increased to reduce the co-channel interference level. Many channel allocation schemes are based on this idea of physical separation. Another method to increase SIR is to reduce the powers transmitted from the interfering base stations and/or to increase the power of the desired base station. This is the motive behind the power control schemes [13]. Figure 2.1 shows the concept of frequency reuse, where cells labeled with the same number use the same group of channels. Cell boundaries are shown with hexagons in the figure, although the shape of the cells is anything but hexagon in practice, due to terrestrial factors. However, hexagonal layout has been universally adopted since it permits easy and manageable analysis of a cellular system. While it might seem natural to choose a circle to represent a cell, circles cannot cover a region without leaving gaps or creating overlapping regions. A region can be covered without gaps or overlaps with using three shapes: a

6 square, an equilateral triangle and a hexagon. Among these shapes, a regular hexagon can cover a larger area with the same center-to-vertex distances, which means that a hexagonal layout requires fewer cells than square and triangular layouts, to serve a given total coverage area. Thus, hexagonal layout is more economic than the other two, since less base stations are required in covering an area. Furthermore, this shape can easily be obtained if the omni-directional antennas of the base stations are placed such that the cell boundaries are determined by the corresponding signal power [14].

2 7 1 6 2 7 1 6 5 4 6 5 3 7 1 4 5 2 3 4 3

Figure 2.1. Cellular layout with cluster size seven As an example, consider a cellular system with a total of S duplex channels available, where they are divided into N frequency groups. Then, each of these groups can be assigned to N cells so that each cell uses different channels from the others. These N cells, which collectively use the complete set of available frequencies, are called a cluster and N is the cluster size of the cellular system. Due to the properties of hexagonal geometry, the cluster size can only have values that satisfy Equation (2.3) [15]. N = i2 + ij + j2 (2.3)

i and j are non-negative integers, which are called shift parameters. In order to find the nearest co-channel neighbors of a specific cell, the following steps should be taken:

7 First, move i cells along any chain of hexagons and then turn 60 degrees counter-clockwise and move j cells. This method is shown in Figure 2.2 for a cluster size of 19, where i is three and j is two.

8 19 18 7 17 6 16 8 19 18 7 17 6 16 15 14 19 18 7 17 6 16 15 14 5 13 1 4 12 16 15 14 2 3 11 17 6 5 13 5 13 8 9 10 18 7 1 4 12 1 4 12 16 15 14 19 2 3 11 2 3 11 17 6 5 13 8 9 10 9 10 18 7 1 4 12 16 15 14 15 14 19 2 3 11 17 6 5 13 5 13 8 9 10 18 7 1 4 12 1 4 12 16 15 14 19 2 3 11 2 3 11 17 6 5 13 8 9 10 9 10 18 7 1 4 12 19 2 3 11 8 9 10

Figure 2.2. Locating co-channel cells when N = 19 (i = 3, j = 2) When the sizes of the cells are the same and the base stations transmit the same power, SIR becomes dependant on only the radius of the cells (R) and the distance between centers of the nearest co-channel cells (D). The ratio of D over R is called the co-channel reuse ratio Q. For hexagonal geometry, Q is given as [10]:

Q=

D = 3N R

(2.4)

It is obvious that larger values for Q means smaller co-channel interference, since the distance between co-channel cells are large, with respect to cell radius. However, larger values for Q also mean larger cluster size, which leads to smaller capacity, since number of channels per cell is proportional with 1/N. For a hexagonal layout, the SIR for a mobile can be approximated as in Equation (2.5), when the power transmitted from each base station is equal, the path loss exponent n is same throughout the coverage area and the environmental noise N0 is omitted.
Rn

SIR =

(D )
i =1 i

i0

(2.5)
n

The Equation (2.5) can further be simplified by considering only the immediate interfering cells, with base stations at an equal distance D from the desired base station, and by using Equation (2.4), so that the Equation (2.6) is achieved. It is interesting to note that as the required SIR is determined, cluster size is also found, in hexagonal cell layout where all the interfering cells are equidistant from the base station receiver. For instance, to meet an SIR requirement of minimum 18 dB, the cluster size should be at least seven, assuming a path loss exponent of four, according to the Equation (2.6).

SIR =

( D / R) n ( 3N ) n = i0 i0

(2.6)

2.2. Channel Allocation Schemes Channel allocation schemes deal with assigning channels to cells in such a manner that the required capacity is met while maintaining a minimum SIR. These schemes can be grouped into three categories, based on how co-channels are separated [13]:

Fixed channel allocation (FCA). Dynamic channel allocation (DCA). Hybrid channel allocation (HCA).

2.2.1. Fixed Channel Allocation (FCA) In FCA, the total available channels are grouped into sets, where a set is assigned to each cell for its exclusive usage. This scheme has already been told in Section 2.1. Simple FCA scheme assigns same number of channels to each cell, thus forming a uniform channel distribution, which is efficient when the traffic is also uniformly distributed. However, traffic in cellular systems is far from being uniform, and this scheme may result in high blocking probabilities in cells with high traffic figures, whereas the radio spectrum may be under-utilized in low-traffic cells. In order to adapt to the nonuniform traffic, channels may be assigned to each cell depending on the expected traffic of the cell, as done in non-uniform channel allocation [16, 17]. Also, a new technique based on determining a relationship between the static and the dynamic SIRs can be used, as given in [18]. Another method that can be used to handle non-uniform traffic is channel borrowing. In this scheme, a cell that has used all of its channels can borrow free channels from its neighboring cells, provided that the borrowed channel does not interfere with existing calls. When a channel is borrowed, several other cells are prohibited from using it, which is called channel locking. Borrowed channels are returned back to donor cells when the calls using them end. The channel borrowing schemes are further divided into simple and hybrid. In simple channel borrowing, any channel in each cell can be borrowed, while only channels marked as borrowable can be used by neighboring cells in hybrid channel borrowing. Channels assigned to each cell are grouped into two subsets in hybrid borrowing, forming local channels and borrowable channels. Local channels are only for local usage and cannot be borrowed, whereas borrowable channels are allowed to be used by neighboring cells in case of need.

10 The simple borrowing strategy gives lower blocking probability than static FCA under light and moderate traffic, but static FCA performs better in heavy traffic conditions. This is because channel borrowing is able to handle traffic fluctuations under light traffic, where the number of locked channels is small. But as the traffic increases, so does the number of locked channels due to borrowing, and the channel usage efficiency drops causing a higher probability of blocking [19]. There are several simple channel borrowing schemes, which differ in the algorithm used to select the channel to be borrowed: Borrow from the richest (SBR). Basic algorithm (BA). Basic algorithm with reassignment (BAR). Borrow first available (BFA). All these schemes try to reduce the number of locked channels caused by channel borrowing. In the SBR, a channel is borrowed from the cell with the greatest number of channels available for borrowing. The BA scheme is same with the SBR algorithm, while it also takes channel locking into account by trying to minimize the future call blocking probability in the cell that is most affected by the channel borrowing. In the BAR scheme, a call using a borrowed channel is transferred to a nominal channel, whenever a nominal channel becomes available. The BFA algorithm selects the first candidate channel that satisfies the co-channel reuse constraint, instead of trying to optimize. Most studies on the performances of the simple channel borrowing schemes show that the algorithms with simple tests for borrowing (i.e. BFA) have performance results comparable to schemes making complex searches for candidate channels. The tests done with the SBR, BA and BFA schemes result in nearly the same average blocking probability versus load. However, the BFA scheme has an advantage over the other two in that its complexity is significantly less [13]. CA summary of the comparison between the BFA, SBR, BA and BAR schemes is given in Table 2.1.

11 Table 2.1. Comparisons between BFA, SBR, BA and BAR Scheme Complexity Flexibility Performance # of tests to locate borrowable channel Few A lot A lot Very few

Borrow from the richest (SBR) Basic algorithm (BA) Basic algorithm with reassignment (BAR) Borrow first available (BFA)

Moderate High High Low

Moderate Moderate Moderate Low

Besides simple channel borrowing, hybrid borrowing has several different schemes, which are listed below. Also, a summary of both simple and hybrid borrowing schemes are given in Table 2.2. Simple hybrid channel borrowing strategy (SHCB). Borrowing with channel ordering (BCO). Borrowing with directional channel locking (BDCL). Sharing with bias (SHB). Channel assignment with borrowing and reassignment (CABR). Ordered dynamic channel assignment with rearrangement (ODCA). Table 2.2. Channel borrowing schemes Category Simple channel borrowing Scheme Simple borrowing (SB) Borrow from the richest (SBR) Basic algorithm (BA) Basic algorithm with reassignment (BAR) Borrow first available (BFA) Simple hybrid borrowing scheme (SHCB) Borrowing with channel ordering (BCO) Borrowing with directional channel locking (BDCL) Sharing with bias (SHB) Channel assignment with borrowing and reassignment (CABR) Ordered dynamic channel assignment with rearrangement (ODCA)

Hybrid channel borrowing

12 In SHCB, channels assigned to each cell are grouped in two sets, which are standard (A) and borrowable (B) channels. Standard channels are assigned to cells nominally, whereas borrowable channels are allowed to be borrowed. BCO keeps the ratio of standard channels to borrowable ones dynamic, thus adapting to the variations in traffic better than SHCB. In this strategy, the assigned channels are ordered from the highest probability for being used locally (i.e., lowest probability for being borrowed) to the lowest probability for being used locally (i.e., highest probability for being borrowed). A similar scheme to BCO is given in [20], with the name fixed preference channel assignment. The BDCL strategy differs from BCO in channel locking. BDCL restricts channel locking to those directions affected by the borrowing, whereas BCO locks the co-channels in three nearby co-channel cells. Thus, the number of channels available for borrowing is greater than that in the BCO algorithm. BDCL also transfers a call on a borrowed channel to a nominal channel or to another borrowed channel, in order to minimize the channel borrowing for future calls. In the SHB scheme, each cell is divided into three sectors, only one of which can borrow channels from the two adjacent cells (donor cells). Also, the channels in the donor cells are grouped into standard and borrowable sets, as in SHCB. CARB chooses candidate channels to be borrowed in the manner of causing the least harm to neighboring cells in terms of future call blocking probability. The ODCA scheme uses the merits of CARB and BCO with some modifications. In this strategy, the channels assigned to each cell are ordered as done in BCO, but the criterion in the CARB scheme is used when ordering. A call on a borrowed channel is transferred to a standard channel upon becoming available in ODCA. Also, a call served by a standard channel is switched to a higher prioritized standard channel, if available. Simulations applied to BDCL, BCO and FCA shows that the BDCL scheme gives the lowest blocking probability, followed by BCO and FCA, for both uniform and nonuniform traffic. ODCA was tested in [21] for a highway microcellular environment with non-uniform traffic load and it was revealed that ODCA results in better channel utilization than CARB and FCA. Also, it supports more traffic than CARB and FCA, at blocking probabilities under 0.1. However, ODCA has a more complex algorithm than the other two, and it results in more frequent switching of channels because of reassignment scheme. The performance comparison between the different hybrid channel borrowing schemes is

13 given in Table 2.3 and Table 2.4. Also, a summary of comparison between FCA schemes is given in Table 2.5. Table 2.3. Comparisons between BCO, BDCL and FCA Category Traffic carried capacity Blocking probability Results (increasing from left to right) FCA, BCO, BDCL BDCL, BCO, FCA

Table 2.4. Comparisons between FCA, CARB and ODCA Category Channel utilization Computational complexity Traffic carried capacity Results (increasing from left to right) FCA, CARB, ODCA ODCA, CARB, FCA FCA, CARB, ODCA

Table 2.5. Comparisons between the FCA schemes Scheme Simple FCA Static borrowing Simple channel borrowing Hybrid channel borrowing Complexity Low Low-moderate Moderate-high Moderate Flexibility Low Moderate High Moderate Performance Better than dynamic and hybrid borrowing in heavy traffic Better than FCA Better than FCA and static borrowing in light and moderate traffic Better than FCA in light and moderate traffic Better than simple channel borrowing in heavy loads

2.2.2. Dynamic Channel Allocation (DCA) The DCA schemes are developed in order to adapt to the short-term temporal variations of traffic. In contrast to FCA, there is no fixed relationship between channels and cells in DCA. All channels are kept in a central pool and are assigned to cells as new calls arrive. After call completion, the channel used is returned to the central pool. In DCA, a channel can be used only if the signal interference constraint is satisfied. A variation of

14 DCA is given in [22] under the name of Maximum Packing Algorithm, where rearrangement of the channel assignment is considered. The existing DCA strategies are classified into three categories based on the type of network dynamics they exploit and the representation of the SIR constraint they employ. Traffic adaptive DCA (TA-DCA) strategies take advantage of the unevenness of traffic among cells, use channel reuse factor and compatibility matrix to represent the SIR constraint. Another type of DCA that exploits the mobility of users is location adaptive DCA (LA-DCA). In the typical implementation of LA-DCA, that is, reuse partitioning, a cell is split into a number of concentric subcells and the SIR constraint is approximated by different channel reuse factors for different subcell groups. The third type of DCA that assigns channels based on real-time interference measurement is called interference adaptive DCA (IA-DCA). There is no formal representation of the SIR constraint in IADCA schemes [23]. Also, the DCA schemes can be divided into centralized and distributed schemes, depending on the type of management they employ. In centralized DCA schemes, a channel from the central pool is assigned to a call by a centralized controller. Many centralized schemes developed, which differ in the cost function used for selecting one of the candidate cells for assignment. These can produce near-optimum results, at the expense of high centralization overhead. Distributed DCA schemes are developed in order to cope with the high centralization overhead present in the centralized DCA schemes. Instead of a centralized information base, distributed schemes use either local information about the currently available channels in the cells vicinity or signal strength measurements. In cell vicinity based schemes, each base station knows which channels are available in its vicinity, and channels are assigned to calls by base stations. Status information is exchanged between base stations upon modifications in channel allocation. Cell-vicinity based DCA schemes produce near-optimum channel allocation at the expense of status information traffic between base stations. A distributed DCA scheme is proposed in [24].

15 DCA schemes that are based on signal strength measurements use local information only, with contrast to the cell-vicinity based strategies. In these schemes, channels can be placed anywhere, as needed, in order to increase capacity or improve radio coverage. Frequency reuse is maximized in these DCA schemes at the expense of increased cochannel interference. 2.2.3. Hybrid Channel Allocation (HCA) HCA schemes are a combination of FCA and DCA schemes. In HCA, the available channels in the system are grouped into fixed and dynamic sets. The channels that belong to the fixed set are assigned to cells, as in FCA. The channels in the dynamic set are kept for future requests such that, when a call needs to be established and there are no nominal channels available in the cell, a channel from the dynamic set is assigned to the call. The ratio of fixed to dynamic channels is an important system parameter that affects the system performance. In general, this parameter is a function of the traffic load and may vary according to the load distribution estimations [13]. 2.2.4. Comparisons between FCA and DCA Simulation results show that DCA schemes over-performs FCA schemes under low/moderate load and non-uniform traffic [25]. This is because of the dynamic nature of DCA methods, where channels are assigned from a pool upon request, in contrast to FCA strategies, where channels are pre-assigned to cells. Thus, while DCA can adapt to variations in traffic, FCA cannot use all the channels in the same intensity, with some cells having unused channels while others have all channels occupied. However, the dynamic nature of DCA schemes becomes a disadvantage when the traffic load is increased, since DCA is not as successful as FCA in frequency reuse. This leads to low channel utilization, and makes DCA schemes perform worse than FCA schemes under heavy load conditions. A summary of the performance comparison of FCA and DCA schemes is given in Table 2.6.

16 Table 2.6. Comparisons between FCA and DCA FCA Performs better under heavy traffic DCA Performs better under light/moderate traffic Low flexibility in channel assignment Flexible allocation of channels Maximum channel reusability Not always maximum channel reusability Sensitive to time and spatial changes Insensitive to time and time spatial changes Not stable grade of service per cell in an Stable grade of service per cell in an interference cell group interference cell group High forced call termination probability Low to moderate forced call termination probability Suitable for large cell environment Suitable in micro-cellular environment Low flexibility High flexibility Radio equipment covers all channels Radio equipment covers the temporary assigned to the cell channels assigned to the cell Independent channel-control fully Control dependent on the scheme centralized to fully distributed Low computational effort High computational effort Low call set up delay Moderate to high call setup delay Low implementation complexity Moderate to high implementation complexity Complex, labor intense frequency planning No frequency planning Low signaling load Moderate to high signaling load Centralized control Centralized, decentralized, distributed control depending on the scheme

17

3. FREQUENCY ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM

NPT, which is developed in this thesis, assigns frequencies to cells in such a way that the co-channel interference is minimized, while the probability of blocking constraint is satisfied. However, NPT allows the user to change the cost and constraint, and use cochannel interference as constraint while trying to minimize the probability of blocking. 3.1. Parameters

Figure 3.1. Map that NPT uses

18 NPT operates on a special map, colored depending on the geographical structures comprised. Currently, a Kadikoy map is used, as shown in Figure 3.1. Seven types of structures are used in the current map, which are empty, house, street, avenue, boulevard, hotspot and main road. Each of them has several properties, like: Color by which the structure will be displayed on the map. Call arrival rate per second. Mean speed in km/hour. Mean call holding period in seconds. Each cell created on the map has some properties, which are listed below and shown in Figure 3.2: Label of the cell. MSC that the cell is assigned. BSC that the cell is assigned. LA of the cell. Signal power of the cell transmitted, given in decibels, which is updated automatically as the shape of the cell is changed according to a specific ratio. Call arrival rate, , which is calculated automatically according to the geographical structures covered (call arrivals to the cells follow a Poisson distribution regardless of the geographical structures covered). Average call holding time, given in seconds, which is calculated automatically according to the geographical structures covered (call duration is exponentially distributed). Number of guard channels that wont be used in the frequency assignment. Probability of blocking calculated after the frequency assignment, which is noneditable. Frequency groups assigned.

19

Figure 3.2. Cell properties dialog window NPT allows the user to create cells either manually, letting the user to draw each cells by mouse, or automatically, according to a pre-determined pattern. Two layout patterns are available for this purpose, which are hexagonal layout and Manhattan (rectangle) layout. After creating the cellular layout, the user can modify any cell by adding new nodes to the cell boundary, removing the existing cell boundary nodes or moving nodes/lines of the cell boundary. The transmitter of a cell are assumed to be in the middle of the cell boundary nodes, calculated from the average of the coordinates of the nodes, shown by triangle, as in Figure 3.3. Thus, the transmitter node also moves when the cell nodes are moved.

20

Figure 3.3. Hexagonal cellular layout drawn by NPT Frequency groups should be created by the user before assignment. NPT gives the user a simple interface for creating frequency groups, as shown in Figure 3.4. As the user enters the number of frequency groups to be created, along with the number of frequencies per group, the frequency groups are created with frequencies. Each frequency group has several properties, which are: Index of the frequency group, indicating the adjacency relationship, non-editable. Label of the frequency group. Frequencies comprised, each of which is assigned to the group in a manner that the adjacent-channel interference is minimal, non-editable.

21

Color of the frequency group, automatically assigned, used when the frequency groups are displayed on the cellular layout.

Figure 3.4. Frequency group creation window Consequently, the parameters decided and the ones supplied by the user are given in Table 3.1 and Table 3.2, as a summary. Table 3.1. Decision parameters Parameter C Sc COfg Ii FGc CHc Pb,c Description Total system cost The desired signal power of cell c Number of co-channel cells for the frequency group fg Interfering signal power from the ith co-channel cell. Number of frequency groups assigned to cell c Number of channels assigned to cell c, the result of FGc*Ffg*CHf Call blocking probability of cell c

22 Table 3.2. User supplied parameters Parameter M Description Geographical structures given by the underlying map Call arrival rate on geographical structure m, in 1/seconds Mean speed on geographical structure m, in km/hr Mean call holding period on geographical structure m, in seconds Number of cells that are created via NPT Number of frequency groups that are created via NPT Number of frequencies per frequency group fg Number of channels per frequency f Signal power of cell c transmitted, in decibels Call arrival rate in cell c, in 1/seconds, calculated according to the geographical structures covered Mean call holding period in cell c, in seconds, according to the geographical structures covered Traffic intensity of cell c, found by c*Hc Maximum allowable call blocking probability Minimum SIR allowable Path loss exponent of the environment Environmental noise 3.2. Problem Formulation The approaches to solve the frequency assignment problem can be subdivided in two main streams: minimization of the total cost (minsum) and minimization of the maximum cost (minmax) [1]. NPT tries to maximize the minimum signal-to-interference ratio among all the cells, so that the interference between the co-channels is minimized. Thus, the objective function can be given as follows:
Sc Maximize Min(SIRmin ) = Min CO Ii + N0 i =1

m
vm Hm CL FG Ffg CHf Pc

c
Hc Ac Pb,max SIRmin N N0

(3.1)

23 The objective function is maximized in such a way that the call blocking probability is less than or equal to Pb,max for all cells. The constraints are given below:
Pb ,c Pb ,max
, c

(3.2)

FGc FG

, c

(3.3)

Since the system is modeled via M/M/m queues, Erlang B formula is used in order to calculate the blocking probability for each cell, as given in [10]:
CH

Pr [blocking ] =

Ac c CH c !
CH c

k =0

Ac k!

(3.4)

Ac is the traffic intensity of the cell c, and is calculated by multiplying the call arrival rate with call holding period.

24

4. SOLUTION METHODS

Graph theory and algorithms are used extensively in the literature for solving frequency assignment problems, as done in [1,26-32]. The basic FAP can be shown to be NP-hard in its simplest form because it is reduced to the graph coloring problem. More generally, the problem is equivalent to the so-called set T-coloring problem. Therefore, it is unlikely to find any efficient algorithm for this problem [33]. Many heuristic methods, other than graph coloring algorithms, have been proposed to deal with the FAP, including constraint programming, simulated annealing (SA), genetic algorithms [34], tabu search [33], ANT heuristic [35], neural network algorithm [36], randomized saturation degree heuristic [37], ANTS algorithm [38] and others [39, 40]. In this thesis, SA optimization technique is used.
4.1. Calculation of Objective and Constraint Functions

The objective in NPT is the maximization of the minimum SIR, as mentioned in the previous section. The SIR for a specific frequency group and a specific cell is calculated by Equation (3.1). Only the interference caused by co-channels are taken into account, and the adjacent channel interferences are not calculated. Also, co-channel relationship is considered on the frequency group level, that is, it is assumed that co-channel interference may occur between the frequencies that belong to the same frequency group. Thus, co-channel cells are the ones using the same frequency groups. The signal powers to be used when finding out SIR are calculated by Equation (2.1). When determining the SIR for a specific cell and a specific frequency group, the following steps are followed: The co-channel cells, that is, the cells that use the desired frequency group, are determined.

25

The SIR is calculated at each node of the boundary of the desired cell. The distances are taken as between the cell boundary node and the transmit nodes of the co-channel cells.

Within the SIR values calculated for each node of the boundary of the desired cell, the minimum SIR value is taken into account. After calculating the SIR values for all the cells and frequency groups, the minimum

SIR value is selected as the output of the objective function, which is also the value to be maximized. The constraint is selected as the probability of blocking. This value is tried to be kept under a selected maximum value for all cells, which is two per cent by default. Probability of blocking for a specific cell is calculated via Equation (3.4).
4.2. Simulated Annealing Algorithm

The SA algorithm [7-9] is chosen for its ease of implementation and success in finding a near optimal solution. The algorithm starts with an initial feasible solution and makes random moves within the range of the neighbors that can be reached from the current solution. Each step in the algorithm corresponds to visiting a feasible neighbor. The cost associated with the neighbor is considered before really passing on to the neighbor. If the cost of the neighbor is less than the current cost, the move is accepted. Otherwise, the move is accepted with a probability that decreases in time. Flowchart of the SA algorithm is given in Figure 4.1. Initial solution is found by assigning frequency groups to the cells in a random manner, only considering co-channel interferences in the neighboring cells. That is, frequency groups other than the ones assigned to neighboring cells are tried to be assigned to each cell, in a manner to make the probability of blocking less than the maximum specified value. However, if probability of blocking constraint cannot be satisfied, frequency groups that are assigned to neighboring cells are also used.

26

find an initial feasible solution

melt the system cool the system generate neighbor calculate cost of the neighbor

NO exp(-delta(cost)/T) > random()

cost better than previous YES accept move reset fail counter increase iteration counter

NO increase fail counter

YES

both counters < maximum values NO get best move

YES

Figure 4.1. Flowchart of the SA Algorithm Before starting the annealing process, the system is melted, that is, the temperature is increased so that the generated neighbors are accepted regardless of their costs. Then, at each step, the temperature is decreased by a scale, specified by the user.

27 Neighborhood generation is performed by randomly selecting a cell and assigning a new frequency group to it. Also, one of the existing frequency groups of the cell is removed, if the blocking probability constraint is satisfied. There exist two stopping criteria in the SA algorithm. The first criterion is the number of moves that are not accepted sequentially. When the number of moves that are rejected one after another reach to a specified maximum number, the SA stops. The default value for this maximum reject-count is given as 20, but the user may modify this value, if needed. The second stopping criterion is the number of moves made since the algorithm started. SA also stops when this maximum number, which is given by the user via the window shown in Figure 4.2, is reached.

Figure 4.2. SA parameter window

4.3. Reuse Pattern Algorithm

In order to compare the results that are obtained by SA, assignment by using Reuse Pattern (RP) is also implemented. In this algorithm, the cluster size equation is used, which is given by Equation (2.3).

28 As mentioned in the second section, i and j are non-negative integers, which are called shift parameters. These parameters are used in assigning the frequency groups to cells, as shown in Figure 2.2. Blocking probability is not taken into account in this assignment. However, since the cluster size is restricted to the equation given in Equation (2.3), the number of frequency groups that are to be used in the assignment is also bound to the same equation. Thus, algorithm comparison is performed for some specific number of frequency groups. The shift parameters are taken from the user by the window shown in Figure 4.3. The cluster size field in the figure is not editable, and is automatically calculated from switch parameters.

Figure 4.3. RP parameter window

4.4. Greedy Search Algorithm

The other neighborhood search algorithm, which is used for comparing the results obtained by different algorithms, is the Greedy Search algorithm (GS). This algorithm is used mostly for problems having convex cost functions. If the cost function is not convex, like in this case, then the GS algorithm is run starting from a point of the feasible solution space. When the cost cannot be improved any further, the algorithm is stopped and then rerun starting from a different feasible solution [14]. This is repeated until a maximum count is reached.

29 The GS algorithm is implemented by the SA algorithm that starts with an initial temperature of zero. Thus, the better moves are accepted only, and the worse moves are not taken into account. The number of times that the GS algorithm is run, along with other parameters, is taken from the user, by the window displayed in Figure 4.4.

Figure 4.4. GS parameter window

30

5. COMPUTATIONAL EXPERIMENTS

In order to present the characteristics of the frequency assignment problem, several computational experiments are performed. First, a sample problem and the corresponding solution are presented. Next, several groups of tests are performed, where the effects of parameters to the cost and constraint functions are examined. In this part, the SA algorithm is used in frequency assignment. Lastly, performance of the SA, GS and RP algorithms are compared, in terms of the problem cost and constraint values.
5.1. Base Problem

All the experiments are performed on a special map, where one centimeter represents approximately 0.22 kilometers on the map. The map comprises seven different geographical structures. The properties of the geographical structures are given in Table 5.1. Table 5.1. Geographical structure parameters for the base problem
Geographical structure vm Hm

m
0 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.50 0.30

Empty House Street Avenue Boulevard Hotspot Main road

0 1 10 35 50 35 90

60 60 60 60 60 60 60

Number of cells created in the base problem is 151. Each cell has a radius of 0.45 kilometers approximately. The average call arrival rate is 0.061. Nineteen frequency groups are added, each having one frequency. Cells do not use guard channels, so total number of channels per cell equals to number of channels per frequency group multiplied by number of frequency groups per cell. These values, together with other parameters, are listed in Table 5.2.

31 Table 5.2. Parameters of the base problem

Parameter CL c,avg FG Ffg CHf Pc Pb,max SIRmin N N0 Value 151 0.061 19 1 8 15 dB 0.02 14 dB 4 0

The minimum SIR (i.e., cost) and the maximum probability of blocking (i.e., constraint) values obtained by SA for the base problem are given in Table 5.3. Table 5.3. The cost and the constraint values for the base problem
Minimum SIR Maximum Probability of Blocking 0.019

7.40

5.2. Effect of Some Parameters and Design Decisions

In this sub-section, the effects of several parameters on the minimum SIR and maximum probability of blocking values are examined in detail. The results are presented as charts. In all the experiments, the input parameters are the parameters for the base problem. Only the parameter that is examined is changed, while the others are kept the same. SA method is used during assignments, with maximum number of iterations equal to 20000. For each parameter set, the algorithm is executed 10 times, starting with possibly different initial assignments, and the best value is taken into account.
5.2.1. Effect of Call Arrival Rate

In order to examine the effect of the call arrivals on the minimum SIR and maximum probability of blocking, frequency assignment is performed for various sets of call arrival

32 rates for the geographical structures. The set of values are achieved by varying the call arrival weight that is used when calculating the call arrival rates of the cells according to the covered geographical structures. The call arrival rates of the geographical structures for the base problem are not modified. The results obtained for the minimum SIR are given in Figure 5.1. As seen in the figure, there is a big change between average lambda values 0.05 and 0.06, and the sound quality becomes unacceptable after lambda weight 0.06, since the SIR drops below 14 dB. Changing the lambda weight from 0.06 to 0.1 does not affect the cost function,

30

25

Minimum SIR (dB)

20

15

10

0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 Average Lambda (1/sec)

Figure 5.1. Minimum SIR versus average lambda The maximum probability of blocking values for the average lambda values are shown in Figure 5.2. From the figure, it can be derived that the cellular network created can support a maximum traffic value of 0,08 calls per second in average. Up to this value, the probability of blocking rate is kept under two per cent. However, after the average lambda value 0.08, the probability of blocking increases dramatically, being 14 per cent for lambda 0.09 and 27 per cent for lambda 0.1, which is not acceptable.

33

0.30

0.25 Maximum Probability of Blocking

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1 Average Lambda (1/sec)

Figure 5.2. Maximum probability of blocking versus lambda weight

5.2.2. Effect of Cell Size

The effect of cell size to minimum SIR and maximum probability of blocking values is also examined. The sizes of the cells are changed by the number of the cells created. Distinct values are used for the number of cells, in order to tile the map completely, without any gaps. Again the call arrival rates on the geographical structures for the base problem are used. The average lambda is not changed directly, as done in Section 5.2.1, but changing the cell sizes affected this value. Average lambda values corresponding to various numbers of cells, which are basically calculated by taking the average of the lambda values of all the cells, are given in Table 5.4. The lambda weight is taken as 0,00005. Also, the results obtained for the minimum SIR are given in Figure 5.3.

34 Table 5.4. Numbers of cells versus average call arrival rates

Number Average call of cells arrival rate (1/sec) 95 0.094 102 0.087 112 0.080 121 0.076 129 0.071 141 0.064 151 0.061 164 0.055 172 0.053 186 0.049 194 0.048 207 0.045 219 0.042 234 0.039 249 0.037 277 0.033

35

30

25 Minimum SIR (dB)

20

15

10

0 95 102 112 121 129 141 151 164 172 186 194 207 219 234 249 277 Number of Cells

Figure 5.3. Minimum SIR versus number of cells In Figure 5.3, it can be noticed that the minimum SIR value does not change much between number of cell values 95 and 164. Also, the minimum SIR value in this range is below 14 dB, meaning that the speech quality is below the acceptable levels. In order to

35 increase the speech quality, system capacity should be increased, either by adding new frequencies or adding new cells to the system. The effect of the latter option can be seen in the Figure 5.3. As the number of cells is increased to 172, the minimum SIR value exceeds 14 dB. Thus, the minimum number of cells required by the system is 172, for having an acceptable speech quality. The maximum probability of blocking values for various numbers of cells are shown in Figure 5.4. As seen in the figure, maximum probability of blocking decreases as the number of cells is increased. Thus, splitting the cells in which the probability of blocking values are above acceptable levels can be applied to decrease these values.

0.25

Maximum Probability of Blocking

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0 95 102 112 121 129 141 151 164 172 186 194 207 219 234 249 277 Number of Cells

Figure 5.4. Maximum probability of blocking versus number of cells Up to 172 cells, the maximum probability of blocking of the system is above the acceptable 2 per cent value. At 172 cells, the probability of blocking reaches 2 per cent, and continues to decrease as the number of cells is increased. Again, 172 is found to be the minimum number of cells required, in order to meet the probability of blocking constraint.

36
5.3. Demonstration of Results

In this section, the results obtained from the SA, GS and RP algorithms are compared. Both for SA and GS, maximum number of iterations is taken as 20000. For each problem, SA and GS algorithms are run 10 times, and the best results are taken into account. In the RP algorithm, a reuse pattern for cluster size equal to 19 (i = 3, j = 2) is used. This algorithm is run only once for each problem, since the results are exact and do not change. Table 5.5. Results obtained with the SA, GS and RP algorithms
Prob. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Base Problem Cell No=95 Cell No=102 Cell No=112 Cell No=121 Cell No=129 Cell No=141 Cell No=164 Cell No=172 Cell No=186 Cell No=194 Cell No=207 Cell No=219 Cell No=234 Cell No=249 Cell No= 277 Av. Lambda=0.01 Av. Lambda=0.02 Av. Lambda=0.03 Av. Lambda=0.04 Av. Lambda=0.05 Av. Lambda=0.07 Av. Lambda=0.08 Av. Lambda=0.09 Av. Lambda=0.1 Prob. Description SA Cost min SIR 7.40 7.27 7.38 7.33 7.20 7.25 7.46 7.49 17.20 20.19 19.03 18.75 20.09 26.89 3 1 .1 2 27.87 28.94 55.55 39.05 27.73 18.53 7.24 7.02 7.14 6.73 SA Const max Blck 0.019 0.017 0.019 0.018 0.019 0.020 0.017 0.019 0.020 0.020 0.019 0.020 0.019 0.020 0.019 0.017 1.4E-5 0.001 0.011 0.020 0.020 0.019 0.017 0.018 0.019 GS Cost min SIR 7.20 7.07 7.09 6.99 7.35 7.32 7.41 7.92 16.62 19.35 19.81 19.02 20.24 19.85 30.70 21.00 27.95 25.86 57.39 20.00 18.66 7.08 7.12 7.02 6.98 GS Const max Blck 0.019 0.017 0.056 0.018 0.019 0.020 0.017 0.019 0.020 0.020 0.019 0.020 0.019 0.020 0.019 0.017 1.4E-5 0.001 0.011 0.020 0.020 0.019 0.017 0.018 0.019 RP Cost min SIR 354.15 475.58 405.14 461.50 409.80 354.70 423.44 416.17 375.77 406.25 397.42 347.04 398.26 358.56 393.00 371.48 354.15 354.15 354.15 354.15 354.15 354.15 354.15 354.15 354.15 RP Const max Blck 0.15 0.32 0.30 0.30 0.25 0.20 0.18 0.14 0.09 0.13 0.12 0.081 0.065 0.068 0.056 0.044 1.4E-5 0.001 0.011 0.04 0.08 0.20 0.26 0.32 0.37

All the problems presented are variations of the base problem. The changed parameter is given in the description column. Same problems are also used in Sections 5.2.1 and 5.2.2. The results are shown in Table 5.5. From problem two to 16, number of cells in the system is increased, meaning that the average lambda is decreased. In problems 17-25, the average lambda is modified.

37 In all the problems, the SA and GS algorithms give similar results, with SA performing better mostly than GS. However, there are times that the GS algorithm produces better results, as in problem 19. The probability of blocking constraint is always kept under the maximum two per cent value by the SA algorithm, resulting in low minimum SIR values, especially in high-density traffic. The GS algorithm isnt able to satisfy the probability of blocking constraint once in problem three. The RP algorithm gives the best minimum SIR value always, but without taking the probability of blocking constraint into account. Thats why the probability of blocking value is mostly unacceptable, especially in moderate and high-density traffic. However, in low-density traffic, the RP algorithm gives the best results, as in problems 17, 18 and 19, where the probability of blocking of the system is below the maximum two per cent value.

38

6.

NETWORK PLANNING TOOL

This section explains the usage of NPT, together with some implementation details. Also, in the end of the section, NPT is compared with several commercial mobile network planning tools, such as Asset [41], Fase [42] and CelOptima [43].
6.1. The Usage

The basic usage of NPT, which comprises starting-up NPT, creating the cellular layout, the wired structure, frequencies and the location areas, assigning frequencies to cells by using various methods, and displaying the results is explained in this subsection. NPT is started with executing the nptstart.bat in Windows or nptstart.sh in Unix. Upon start-up, the main window given in Figure 6.1 is displayed. The map that is shown in the background belongs to a part of Kadky, in a scale where one centimeter on the map represents approximately 0.22 kilometers in real. The colors on the map represent a total of seven geographical structures, which are mainly roads.
6.1.1. Creating Cells

The user can create a cellular layout either manually, by using the menu displayed when the mouse is right-clicked, or automatically, by selecting a layout pattern from the Edit Layout menu, which is recommended. When the user right-clicks on the map, a menu, which is shown in Figure 6.2, is displayed. By choosing the Add Add Cell item from the menu, the user starts drawing a cell, node by node at each left-mouse-click, as shown in Figure 6.3. The triangle in the middle of the cell represents the BTS. However, adding all the cells in this way is rather hard, so NPT gives the user ability to add a number of cells in two built-in patterns, which are hexagonal and rectangular patterns.

39

Figure 6.1. NPT main window, zoomed-out to display the entire map

Figure 6.2. Window displayed when the mouse is right-clicked

40

Figure 6.3. Adding a cell manually When the user selects the Edit Layout menu, a sub-menu is displayed, from which

the layout pattern can be selected, either Hexagonal Layout, or Manhattan Layout, as given by Figure 6.4. Hexagonal Layout creates hexagonal cells on the map, while selecting Manhattan Layout creates rectangular cells. Both of the items in the Edit Figure 6.5. Layout submenu ask the number of cells, the width-

to-height ratio of the cells, and whether to remove cells with zero traffic or not, like in

41

Figure 6.4. Edit

Layout menu

Figure 6.5. Hexagonal layout window After entering the desired values, NPT creates the cells requested, adjusting their width and height in order to fit them to the map. If removing cells with zero traffic is requested, NPT removes the cells having zero traffic according to the underlying map. When the user selects Hexagonal Layout and wants to create 108 cells with width-toheight ratio equal to one and zero traffic cells removed, the layout shown in Figure 6.6 is get. When the cells are created automatically according to a specific pattern, some of their properties are also calculated with respect to the map below. Call arrival rate (lambda) and call hold time values of each cell are calculated according to the geographical structures that are covered by the cell. NPT removes zero traffic cells according to these values, if requested.

42

Figure 6.6. Cells that are created according to hexagonal pattern NPT gives the user ability to modify the created cells by adding/removing nodes, moving the nodes/edges/cells, splitting cells into two, separating cells from their neighbors or joining them with new neighboring cells. Adding/removing nodes and cells, splitting/separating/joining cells can be done through the popup menu displayed in Figure 6.2. Moving the nodes, edges or cells can be done by dragging the related component with the mouse. It should be noted that moving the nodes, edges or cells also affect the neighboring cells. For instance, when a cell is moved, the nodes common with the neighboring cells also move, thus, the neighboring cells change shape. This is something logical for small

43 moves, since changing the position of cell affects the signal propagation of the neighboring cells. But when a cell is moved more than its size, the layout gets deformed. In order to avoid this deformation, the related cell should be separated from its neighbors before being moved. NPT also supports umbrella cells. That is, the cells may overlay as in Figure 6.7, and the traffic figure calculated from the geographic structures under the overlaying cells is divided among the related cells equally. For instance, the traffic that belongs to the overlaying regions in Figure 6.7 is divided into two, and assigned to the two overlaying cells.

Figure 6.7. Umbrella cell

6.1.2. Creating the Wired Structure, MSCs and BSCs

NPT allows user to create and display the wired structure of the planned network. The user can add MSCs and BSCs on the map, through the popup menu given in Figure 6.2. But before all, the wiring view should be enabled in order to see the MSCs, BSCs and cells created. Wiring view is enabled through the View Figure 6.8. After enabling the wiring view, the user can move the mouse to a desired position and add an MSC or BSC via the popup menu given in Figure 6.2. Wiring menu, as shown in

44

Figure 6.8. View menu MSCs are displayed as red rectangles, and BSCs are displayed as blue circles. When layout view disabled, cells are shown as triangles, that is, only BTSs are displayed, without the cell region, as given in Figure 6.9. In order to have a clear display, the map and layout views are disabled in this figure. However, the user can enable all three views as well, if desired. The links between MSCs and BSCs are shown in red, while the links between BSCs and cells are displayed in blue. These links are attached to the network elements, that is, they also move when MSCs, BSCs or cells are moved. The colors of the network components and the colors of the links, even the shapes of the components can be modified through the XML based import/export files, which are told in Section 6.2.

45

Figure 6.9. Viewing the wired structure, with map and layout views disabled Double-clicking on the MSCs, BSCs and cells display the information window for the related structure, where the user can view and modify several properties. When the user double-clicks on an MSC, the window shown in Figure 6.10 is displayed. By right clicking on the BSC table, the user can link new BSCs to the MSC or remove the existing ones, from the popup menu displayed. When Add item is selected from the menu displayed, a new BSC is added to the table. The user can modify an existing BSC by clicking on the BSC Label column and selecting a BSC from the list displayed. When Remove item is selected from the popup menu, the highlighted BSC is removed from the table.

46

Figure 6.10. MSC information window Double-clicking on a BSC structure displays the BSC information window, which is given in Figure 6.11. The user can change the linked MSC and cells from this window.

Figure 6.11. BSC information window Similarly, cell information window is displayed when a cell is double-clicked, which is shown in Figure 6.12. The user can link the related cell to a new BSC from this window.

47

Figure 6.12. Cell information window

6.1.3. Modifying the Properties of Geographical Structures

NPT gives user the ability to display and modify the properties of geographical structures that are shown in the map with distinct colors. When Edit menu is selected, the window shown in Figure 6.13 is displayed. Two fields are shown in the window below, one for setting the average lambda and the other for lambda weight. Only one of these fields is active at a time, meaning that the user can either set the average lambda or the lambda weight field. When average lambda field is set, NPT calculates the cell lambdas from the underlying geographic structures such that the average of these lambdas equals to the value given in the field. NPT modifies the lambda weight factor, which is used in calculating the cell traffic from the geographic structures, in order to reach to the requested average lambda. Even if more cells are added to the system, NPT adjusts the lambda weight so that the average lambda stays the same, as requested. In order to disable this feature, the lambda weight field should be set. When Mobility Classes

48 lambda weight is given by the user, instead of trying to come up with a specific average lambda value, NPT calculates the average lambda by using the underlying geographic structures and the lambda weight factor supplied.

Figure 6.13. Geographic structures window The geographic structures window has also a table, in which the properties of the geographic structures are displayed. The user can also modify the lambda, speed and hold time values of a specific structure via this table.
6.1.4. Creating Frequency Groups

Frequencies are grouped by frequency groups in NPT, and frequency groups are assigned to cells, rather than frequencies alone. Frequency groups are created by using the window shown in Figure 6.14. As can be seen in the figure, each frequency group has an index, which determines the places of its frequencies on the frequency band. That is, consequent indexes show frequency groups with adjacent frequencies. Frequency column in Figure 6.14 shows the indexes of the frequencies that are present in the relevant frequency group. When more than one frequency per frequency

49 group is requested, the frequencies are assigned to groups in a manner to minimize a possible interference.

Figure 6.14. Frequency group creation/view window Each frequency group has a color, selected automatically during creation. These colors, which can be modified anytime, are used to display the results of the frequency assignment on the cellular layout, by coloring the cells according to the frequency groups assigned.
6.1.5. Modifying Guard Channels

NPT allows the user to set the number of guard channels of all the cells from a single window, which is shown in Figure 6.15. This window is accessible through Edit Channels menu. Guard

Figure 6.15. Guard channels window

50
6.1.6. Assigning the Frequency Groups to Cells

The user can use one of the three built-in assignment methods while performing the assignment; which are simulated annealing, greedy search and reuse pattern algorithms. The assignment method is selected through Edit Assign menu, as shown in Figure 6.16.

Figure 6.16. Edit

Assign menu

Figure 6.17. Simulated annealing parameter window

51 If the user selects simulated annealing, a window, as given in Figure 6.17, is displayed to get and display several parameters. Either maximum probability of blocking, or minimum SIR can be used as the constraint in the SA algorithm. Only one of them can be set at a time. After entering the desired values, the assignment process starts. If the user selects greedy search, a similar window, which is given in Figure 6.18, is displayed. After setting the values, the greedy search starts, with the given parameters.

Figure 6.18. Greedy search parameter window When Edit Assign by Reuse Pattern is selected, the window, shown in Figure

6.19, is displayed. This window is where values for the switch parameters are entered, which are to be used in the RP algorithm. An important point here is that the number of frequency groups should be equal to or greater than the cluster size calculated by using the switch parameter values entered. This is because the algorithm uses cluster size number of frequency groups in assignment. When there are more frequency groups than the cluster size, the excess frequency groups are not used in the assignment. The cluster size field in the window given by Figure 6.19 is automatically updated when new values are entered for the switch parameters, using the Equation (2.3).

52

Figure 6.19. Reuse pattern parameter window

6.1.7. Creating the Location Areas

Location areas are created by the window given in 6.20, which is accessible through the Edit Location Area menu. The labels and the colors, which are set automatically during creation, can be modified from the location area table displayed. Then, they can be assigned to cells via the cell information window, shown in Figure 6.12.

Figure 6.20. Location area creation/view window

53 When the location area view is enabled, each cell is filled with the color of its location area, as displayed in Figure 6.21.

Figure 6.21. Assigned location areas are displayed with distinct colors Also, the user can view specific location areas, rather than viewing them all, via the location area details window shown in Figure 6.22. In this window, which is accessible through View Location Areas menu, the user should mark the view checkboxes of the location areas that are desired to be viewed. The marked location areas are displayed, while the ones that are not marked are hidden.

54

Figure 6.22. Location area details window

6.1.8. Viewing the Assignment

The assignment can be examined in three different views listed in the View menu shown in Figure 6.8. First, the frequency groups assigned to cells can be viewed. Second, probability of blocking in each cell can be examined by a color for each value range, which are modifiable thorough View Probability of Blocking Classes. Third, the minimum SIR SIR Classes menu. in each cell can be displayed, again by a distinct color for each value range. These colors and value ranges may be modified via View

Figure 6.23. Frequency details window

55 In order to see the assigned frequency groups on the map, first View displayed should be marked from the View displayed in Figure 6.24. Frequencies

should be selected. Then, the view checkboxes of the frequency groups that are to be Frequency Details window, as given in Figure 6.23. As the desired frequency groups are marked, they are shown on the map, like

Figure 6.24. Assigned frequency groups displayed on map by colors To see the probability blocking results for each cell, View examined and modified through View Probability of Blocking

should be selected. The colors that represent probability of blocking value ranges can be Probability of Blocking Classes window, which

56 is shown in Figure 6.25. The selected probability of blocking classes are viewed on the map as given in Figure 6.26.

Figure 6.25. Probability of blocking classes window

Figure 6.26. Probability of blocking for each cell is displayed by a color

57 In order to see the minimum SIR for each cell, View modified via View Signal-to-interference Ratio

should be selected. The colors that represent SIR value ranges can be examined and SIR Classes window, shown in Figure 6.27.

Figure 6.27. SIR classes window

Figure 6.28. Minimum SIR for each cell is displayed by a color

58 The selected SIR classes are viewed on the map as given in Figure 6.28. Besides viewing the results globally, individual cell information can be examined by doubleclicking on a desired cell, by the window displayed in Figure 6.29.

Figure 6.29. Cell information window

6.1.9. Results

The probability of blocking and minimum SIR values for all the cells can also be viewed through the Results menu shown in Figure 6.30. When Results Signal-to-interference Ratio menu item is selected, the window

shown in Figure 6.31 is displayed, in which the SIR values for all the cells are listed in ascending order. The direction of the order can be changed by clicking on the column headers.

59

Figure 6.30. Results menu

Figure 6.31. SIR results window

Figure 6.32. Probability of blocking results window

60 As Results Probability of Blocking menu item is picked, the window given in

Figure 6.32 is displayed, which lists the probability of blocking values for all the cells in descending order. The direction of the order can be changed by clicking on the column headers.
6.2. Interacting with Third Party Tools, XML

NPT allows the user to import/export network data from/to third party planning tools in terms of XML formatted files. The user can import data from or export data to XML files through File Import and File Export menus.

An exported XML file contains all the necessary information to construct the network elements present in the system. A sample file basically contains a main tag, called celllayout, and then a tag for each network structure, as shown in Figure 6.33. The figures displayed in this section are the snapshots of a web browser output, and the plus or minus signs next to several tags are the result of the XML interpretation of the browser. A plus sign tells that the corresponding tag has some hidden properties, and clicking on the sign exposes these properties. In order to save space, only the related tags are exposed in the following figures. In the actual XML file, there are no plus or minus signs, and all the properties are exposed.

Figure 6.33. XML based import/export file structure

61 Frequency groups and contained frequencies are included with freqgroup and frequency tags, respectively. The file shown in Figure 6.33 contains two frequencies and two frequency groups. A more detailed view is given in Figure 6.34, where the properties of frequency groups, frequencies and location areas can be observed. Details of the others are kept closed, to save space.

Figure 6.34. Frequencies, frequency groups and location areas exposed

62 Similarly, one of the two cells can be exposed as in Figure 6.36. To save space, the details of two nodes of the cell are opened, while the third node is kept closed.

Figure 6.35. Cell properties given in the import/export file Figure 6.36 shows the details of the BSC and MSC present in the network. Again, one of the two BSCs is opened, while the other is kept closed.

63

Figure 6.36. The BSC and MSC exposed

6.3. Extending NPT 6.3.1. Adding New Parameters

NPT enables the user to add new parameters to network components via the XML based import/export file. By using the xtparam tag in the XML file, the user can add extra parameters to a network component, which are later displayed automatically in the

64 component information window. For instance, two parameters can be added to a cell, as shown in Figure 6.37.

Figure 6.37. Adding new parameters with xtparam tag

6.3.2. Adding New Algorithms

Adding a SA like algorithm to the system is easy, however it requires coding in Java. The system offers two entry points to the optimization algorithms, which are cost() and alter() functions. The algorithm only calls these two functions during the optimization

65 process, without knowing what is going behind the scenes. For more details, the SimulatedAnnealer.java can be examined.
6.4. Implementation Details 6.4.1. Hardware and Software Requirements

NPT is written by pure java, using Java 2 SDK, version 1.3.0 [44]. Thus, it can run on any operating system supporting Java Runtime environment. The program is developed and tested on an Intel based machine, which has a Pentium III processor operating at 650 Mhz and 128 Mbytes of RAM.
6.4.2. Development Tools

NPT is developed by using Java 2 SDK, version 1.3.0. While coding in Java, API documentation of the language [45] and the language tutorial [46] is extensively used. Also, for graphical issues, Frequently Asked Questions of comp.graphics.algorithms is used [47], together with a GUI framework called JHotDraw, which can be downloaded from [48]. GNU Emacs is used as an editor [49], with a Java development environment add-on downloaded from [50].
6.4.3. Program Files

In this section, the files that implement the NPT are described briefly. The files are sorted according to their names.
AssignByPatternDialog.java: Implements the dialog used for getting the values of

parameters to be used during assignment by RP.

AssignBySaDialog.java: Implements the dialog used for getting the values of

parameters to be used during assignment by SA.

66

Bsc.java: Implements the BSC object. BscDialog.java: Implements the dialog displayed when a BSC is double-clicked,

which shows the relevant BSC information.

Cell.java: Implements the Cell object. Each cell drawn in the layout frame is a Cell

object.
CellDialog.java: Implements the dialog displayed when a cell is double-clicked,

which shows the relevant cell information.

CellLayout.java: Implements the cell layout frame, in which the map and the cells

are displayed.
CellPoint.java: Implements the CellPoint object, which are used as nodes of the

cells.
ColorChooser.java: Implements the color chooser dialog window. ColorRenderer.java: Implements the color renderer to be used when displaying

colors in tables.
CustomClass.java: Implements the CustomClass object, which is used for

representing the probability of blocking and signal-to-interference ratio values with colors, so that they can be displayed on the map.
CustomClassDialog.java: Implements the dialog that is used in viewing and

modifying CustomClass objects.

CustomDialog.java: Implements a generic dialog used for getting values for specific

parameters.
DataFileFilter.java: Implements the file-filtering object used in the file chooser

dialog to filter files according to their extensions.

DialogParam.java: Implements DialogParam object, which is used for representing

the parameters fed into CustomDialog object.

Frequency.java: Implements the Frequency object that is comprised by frequency

groups.
FrequencyGroup.java: Implements the FrequencyGroup object, which comprises

Frequency objects.
FrequencyGroupDialog.java: Implements the dialog used in creating, modifying

and viewing frequency groups.

Geom.java: Implements several geometric functions.

67

LocationArea.java: Implements the location area object. LocationAreaDialog.java: Implements the dialog used in creating, modifying and

viewing location areas.

MobilityClass.java: Implements the MobilityClass object, which is used to represent

the geographical structures comprised in the mobility map.

MobilityMap.java: Implements the MobilityMap object, which reads the mobility

file, manages the geographical structures and sets the mobility parameters of cells.
Msc.java: Implements the MSC object. MscDialog.java: Implements the dialog displayed when a MSC is double-clicked,

which shows the relevant MSC information.

NetworkElement.java: Implements the generic interface that cells, BSCs and MSCs

should implement.
Planner.java: The file that comprises the main class of the program. It implements

the main NPT window, menu bar and contains the cell layout frame.
ProbBlockingResultDialog.java: Implements the dialog that is used for displaying

the probability of blocking results for all the cells.

SimulatedAnnealer.java: Implements the SimulatedAnnealer object, which

optimizes a given function using simulated annealing.

SimulatedAnnealerClient.java: Implements the interface that is used by the

SimulatedAnnealer object. Objects that want to use the SimulatedAnnealer object should implement this interface.
SirResultDialog.java: Implements the dialog used in displaying the minimum

signal-to-interference ratio for each cell.

TableMap: Implements the base class of TableSorter object. TableSorter.java: Implements the TableSorter object used for sorting tables

according to a specific column.

Util.java: Implements several utility functions used. ViewFrequencyGroupDialog.java: Implements the dialog used in viewing the

assigned frequency groups.

ViewLocationAreaDialog.java: Implements the dialog used in viewing the assigned

location areas.

68

XtParam.java: Implements the XtParam object used for adding new parameters to

network elements via XML based import/export files.

6.5. Comparison with Commercial Products 6.5.1. Overview of the Commercial Products

Mainly, three network planning tools are investigated while developing NPT, which are Asset [41], FASE [42] and CelOptima [43]. Asset is advertised as the network planning and information management tool, having the following features [41]: Full support and planning capabilities for GSM, GPRS, HSCSD, EGPRS, ECSD, PCS, AMPS, TDMA and TETRA. Macro and Microcell Models. User friendly traffic and neighbor planning. Integrated dual band planning. Fast predictions using modified Hata propagation Model. Cost and interference based planning. Optimized frequency plan. NPS/X import/export. Import/export via XML. Coverage export to Intergraph and MapInfo. FASE, which is the acronym of Frequency Assignment by Stochastic Evolution, is a suite of programs for the frequency planning of AMPS and GSM cellular mobile networks. It has the following list of features [42]: Grouping voice channels into frequency groups. Specifying frequencies as voice or control. Optimization for all co-channel and adjacent channel interfaces. Defining underlay/overlay cells. Displaying the sorted list of cells currently suffering the worst SIR.

69

Displaying the objective function value as solution proceeds. CelOptima, which is another planning tool, has the following features, as listed in the

product description given in [43]: Minimization of the overall interference. Factoring the geographic traffic distribution into the optimization solution so that any potential interference is restricted to areas with the least traffic. Optimization of CDMA systems. Using four propagation models through the companion tool CelPlanner.

6.5.2. Comparison

First of all, commercial products use signal interference data provided by RF propagation analyzer tools. CelPlanner, which is the companion product of CelOptima, provides four RF propagation models, which are a modified Lee-Picquenard based model, a Korowajczuk-Picquenard model, a Microcell model and the Line-of-sight model [43]. FASE expects to read a cell-to-cell interference table provided from Telstras own signal propagation modeling package [42]. Additional to using several models like Hata and diffraction models, Asset can import data from SIGNIA, Rhode & Schwarz, Grayson, TMR and TOM files [41]. NPT does only use the graphical data (i.e., cell coordinates) supplied by the user when calculating the signal interferences. However, it can also accept cell coordinates generated by a third party tool, such as a propagation analyzer, and work with the data supplied. Commercial products, like NPT, try to minimize the cost using some kind of optimization algorithm. Asset uses a heuristic in which local minima are avoided by making big changes in the frequency allocation when the cost cannot be decreased furthermore [41]. FASE uses a variation of SA, called stochastic evolution, and focuses on the worst interference signals, like NPT does. Also, FASE displays the value of the objective function as solution proceeds, as a cost function curve [42]. This is not supported currently by NPT.

70 NPT calculates the co-channel interferences only, and does not take the adjacent channels into account for the time being. On the other hand, the commercial planning tools do calculate adjacent channel interferences, together with co-channels. Adding this feature to NPT is planned as a future work. FASE gives user the opportunity to specify frequencies as voice or control and assign these frequencies together or separately [42]. NPT does not make such a distinction between frequencies. Moreover, FASE gives the user ability to group voice channels into frequency groups, as in NPT [42]. Asset can import/export data from/to third party tools. For example, it can output its coverage results to Intergraph or MapInfo. It can exchange data with NPS/X, which is another network planner tool from Nokia. Asset also supports XML as an import/export method, as does NPT [41]. However, XML is the only way NPT exchanges data with third party tools.

71

7. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK

While designing a cellular network, available frequencies should be assigned to cells in such a manner that the traffic requirements of each cell should be satisfied, while the signal quality is kept over an acceptable level. This introduces an optimization problem, which is known as the frequency assignment problem (FAP) in the literature. In this thesis, we tried to come up with a graphical network planning tool, by which the user will be able to create a wireless cellular network, together with the wired structure, make frequency assignment both manually and automatically using a specific algorithm, examine the results of the assignment performed and view the wired structure created. Additionally, we enabled the tool to import/export XML based files so that it can import design results of other programs that do not support graphics, in order to display the results graphically and export design data to other tools. Thus, the tool can also be used as a graphical presentation program for other design tools that concentrate on the design problem itself rather than its presentation. The tool, namely NPT, uses three algorithms when assigning frequencies to cells, which are SA, GS and RP algorithms. Out of these three, SA outperforms the others in most of the cases. Several enhancements can be performed on NPT, mostly concerning the graphical part. First of all, drawing cells can be simplified by adding a copy paste utility. Progress of the optimization algorithm can be displayed as a chart also, which will give a better intuition to the user. Furthermore, adding new fields to network components without changing the program code can be enhanced. Currently, new fields are added through XML based import/export files, but displaying the values of the added fields via colorization is not possible. The values of these fields are only displayed in the information windows of the corresponding components.

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