Parametric mixed linear programming with fuzzy numbers and an application to telecommunications networks planning

The network expansion required for telecommunication businesses to provide new services and technologies must be carefully planned. However, it is not always possible to utilize precise planning data and forecasting demands and costs can introduce uncertainties. Under these uncertain conditions, flexible and comprehensive planning tools that deal suitably with uncertainties are needed. This paper proposes a model for planning the evolution of telecommunications access networks. The model accepts imprecise demand values as fuzzy numbers and, using a parametric approach, evaluates the impact of the demand variation on the planned network. An application to an actual network is also presented.