A non-linear binary integer programming model for location management design of GPRS

Location management consists of the two activities, paging and location updating, both of which are structured around a subdivision of the network service area called the registration areas, either location areas or routing areas. The ways in which the service area is partitioned has a direct impact on the amount of radio bandwidth to be spent on location management. However, paging and location updating share an antagonistic relationship, and finding the optimal registration areas partitioning that strikes a balance between the two is a challenging design problem. Although the design of optimal location management has been studied extensively for GSM, it is surprising that little, or possibly no, attention has been given to the consideration of location management design for GPRS, given that it is fast becoming a de facto system. The objective of the paper is to find the optimal registration areas partitioning of a GPRS that minimises the total location management signalling cost.