Author: Stephanie Milena Alvarez Fernandez
Programme: Doctoral Programme in Network and Information Technologies
Language: English
Supervisors: Dr. Daniel Riera Terrén, Dr. Jésica de Armas Adrián and Dr. Daniel Guerreiro e Silva
Faculty / Institute: Doctoral School UOC
Subjects: Computer Science
Key words: optimization, metaheuristics, telecommunication systems, p-Median Problem
Area of knowledge: Network and Information Technologies
Summary
Recent advances in the telecommunications industry offer great opportunities to citizens and organizations in a globally-connected world, but they also create a vast number of complex challenges that decision-makers must face. Some of these challenges can be modelled as optimization problems. First, this thesis reviews how metaheuristics have been used to date to deal with optimization problems associated with telecommunication systems, detecting the main trends and challenges. In particular, the analysis focuses on problems in network design, routing, and allocation. Given the nature of these challenges, this work also discusses how the hybridization of metaheuristics with methodologies such as simulation can be employed to increase metaheuristics' capabilities when solving stochastic optimization problems. In addition, a popular optimization problem with practical applications in the design of telecommunications networks, the Uncapacitated Single Allocation p-Hub Median Problem (USApHMP) -where a fixed number of hubs have unlimited capacity, each non-hub node is allocated to a single hub and the number of hubs is known in advance -, is analysed in deterministic and stochastic scenarios.