Optimizing microcell base station locations using simulated annealing techniques

The problem of choosing the optimum locations for base stations in a microcell communications system is considered. The factors affecting optimum selection are the non-uniform service areas in complex propagation environments, the mutual coverage and interference of multiple base stations, and the service objective which is usually defined by signal level but may also be defined by delay spread for certain digital systems. This optimization problem is addressed here using simulated annealing (SA) techniques which offer a method to achieve near optimum solutions to complex combinatorial optimization problems. This research shows that SA is a viable approach for handling practical base station siting problems in an urban microcell environment.