ASSIGNMENT OF CELLS TO SWITCHES IN PCS NETWORKS

In this paper, we consider a problem of network design of personal com munication services (PCS). The problem is to assign cells to the switc hes of a PCS network in an optimum manner. We consider two types of co sts. One is the cost of handoffs between cells, The other is the cost of cabling (or trunking) between a cell site and its associated switch , The problem is constrained by the call volume that each switch can h andle. We formulate the problem exactly as an integer programming prob lem. We also propose a heuristic solution for this problem and show th at it performs extremely well.