Applications of Resource Optimization in Wireless Networks

Sammanfattning: The demand for wireless communications is increasing every year, but the available resources are not increasing at the same rate. It is very important that the radio resources are used in an efficient way allowing the networks to support as many users as possible. The three types of networks studied in this thesis are frequency hopping GSM networks, ad hoc multi-hop networks and WCDMA networks.One type of network with a promising future is ad hoc multi-hop networks. The users in this kind of networks communicate with each other without base stations. Instead the signal can be sent directly between two users, or relayed over one or several other users before the final destination is reached. Resources are shared by letting the users transmit in time slots. The problem studied is to minimize the number of time slots used, when the users broadcast. Two different optimization models are developed for assigning time slots to the users. A reduction of the number of time slots means a shorter delay for a user to transmit next time.The rapid growth of the number of subscribers in cellular networks requires efficient cell planning methods. The trend of smaller cell sizes in urban areas for higher capacity raise the need for more efficient spectrum usage. Since the infrastructure of a second generation cellular system, such as GSM, already exists, and the available bandwidth of an operator is limited, frequency planning methods are of utmost importance. Because of the limited bandwidth in a GSM network, the frequencies must be reused. When planning a GSM network the frequencies can not be reused too tightly due to interference. The frequency planning problem in a GSM network is a very complex task. In this thesis an optimization model for frequency assignment in a frequency hopping GSM network is developed. The problem is to assign frequencies to the cells in the network, while keeping the interference to a minimum. Different meta heuristic methods such as tabu search and simulated annealing are used to solve the problem. The results show that the interference levels can be reduced to allow a capacity increase.The demand for sending more information over the wireless communication systems requires more bandwidth. Voice communication was handled well by the second generation cellular systems. The third generation of mobile telecommunication systems will handle data transmissions in a greater extent. The last type of network considered in the thesis is a WCDMA cellular network. The aim is to schedule the transmission of packet data from the base station to the users. Scheduling models that maximize the utility are developed for both the downlink shared channel and the high speed downlink shared channel.