Genetic algorithms for optimal channel assignment in mobile communications

Since the usable frequency spectrum is limited, optimal assignment of channels is becoming more and more important. It can greatly enhance the traffic capacity of a cellular system and decrease interference between calls, thereby improving service quality and customer satisfaction. In this paper, we use genetic algorithms (GA) to solve the problem of assigning calls in a cellular mobile network to frequency channels in such a way that interference between calls is minimized, while demands for channels are satisfied. This channel assignment problem is known to be a difficult optimization problem. Simulation results showed that the GA approach is able to further improve on the results obtained by other techniques.