Single and Multiple Parameters Sensitivity Study of Location Management Area Partitioning for GSM Networks

To obtain optimal location area (LA) partitioning in cellular radio networks is important since it maximizes the usable bandwidth to support services. However, we feel that the solution is insufficient to the problem, since values taken by the parameters of a mathematical model at the time of its formulation are only estimates of the practical scenarios. The optimal solution should instead be treated as a starting point for sensitivity study of the problem. This is particularly important in helping to identify any vast deviation of the parameters that affect the performance of the networks. We present the approach to perform sensitivity study on the LA design of GSM networks which is modeled as a nonlinear binary programming problem. The sensitivity of the total signaling cost when either one or more of the parameters: cell crossing rates, call arrival rates, paging and update costs, deviate from the designed values are investigated. Examples are given to illustrate how these bounds are obtained, within which the parameters can change but the LA partitioning remains optimal.