A mixed integer programming model for transmission system planning in telecommunications networks with general circuit requirements

It is known in the telecommunications network facility design area that a transmission system cost function may be decomposed into a fixed charge part and a linear cost part. The fixed charge part represents the initial investment cost of installing a transmission system on a link and the linear cost part represents the cost of installing circuits of the system. Using the cost function of this type, a mixed integer linear programming model is developed to minimize the present value of transmission systems installation costs subject to satisfying circuit requirements for the telecommunications network in each period of a fixed planning horizon. To make the problem computationally tractable, simplifications are made by using a fixed network hierarchy, i.e., high usage links vs. final links, for routing the required circuits. We present numerical examples solved by using (1) a branch-and-bound procedure, and (2) a heuristic methodology. University Libraries Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213