RESEARCH ARTICLE Base Station Placement Algorithm for Large-Scale LTE Heterogeneous Networks

Data traffic demands in cellular networks today are increasing at an exponential rate, giving rise to the development of heterogeneous networks (HetNets), in which small cells comple-ment traditional macro cells by extending coverage to indoor areas. However, the deploy-ment of small cells as parts of HetNets creates a key challenge for operators ’ careful network planning. In particular, massive and unplanned deployment of base stations can cause high interference, resulting in highly degrading network performance. Although differ-ent mathematical modeling and optimization methods have been used to approach various problems related to this issue, most traditional network planning models are ill-equipped to deal with HetNet-specific characteristics due to their focus on classical cellular network designs. Furthermore, increased wireless data demands have driven mobile operators to roll out large-scale networks of small long term evolution (LTE) cells. Therefore, in this paper, we aim to derive an optimum network planning algorithm for large-scale LTE Het-Nets. Recently, attempts have been made to apply evolutionary algorithms (EAs) to the field of radio network planning, since they are characterized as global optimization methods