MODELS FOR GREENFIELD AND INCREMENTAL CELLULAR NETWORK PLANNING

Abstract

Mobility, as provided in cellular networks, is largely affected by the location of the base stations. To a large extent, the location of base stations is determined by the quantity of base stations available to provide coverage. It is therefore not surprising that the quantity and subsequent location of base stations will not only impact service delivery but also have a large associated cost for implementation. Generally, the higher the quantity of base stations required to provide coverage, the greater the cost of implementation and operation of the radio network. This thesis proposes a modified optimization model to aid the cell planning process. This model, unlike those surveyed, is applicable to both green field and incremental network designs. The variation in model design is fundamental in ensuring cost effective growth and expansion of cellular networks. Numerical studies of the modified model applied to both abstract and real system configurations are carried out using MATLAB. Terrain data from Kampala, Uganda, was used to aid the study. Results show that the antenna height significantly determines the solution of the objective function. In addition, it is shown that slight variations in the cost association between the antenna height and the site construction requirements can be decisively used for predefined targeted network planning. A comparison is also made between an actual network installation and the estimates provided by the model. As expected, results from the study show that the difference between the estimated count and the actual count can be adEquately minimized by slight variations in antenna height requirements