A method and apparatus are disclosed for analyzing and designing various network
configuration scenarios. A modular design allows market assessment and network
planning functions to be performed more efficiently and accurately using a single
integrated design tool. Wired and wireless access technologies can be modeled and
evaluated. In an exemplary implementation for modeling and evaluating fixed wireless
access networks, the network planning tool comprises a market scenario planner,
a cluster analysis tool, a hub sector planner and a network architecture planner.
Generally, the market scenario planner analyzes a listing of potential customers
to generate a list of target customers. The cluster analysis tool allows the network
planner to identify "clusters" of demand for potential hub placement. The hub sector
planner analyzes the hub assignments generated by the cluster analysis tool and
allocates each building in a given hub to a particular sector. The network architecture
planner processes the output of the hub sector planning tool to (i) generate a
complete configuration of the network in terms of equipment requirements at each
node (each building, hub and service node); and (ii) compare a set of scenarios
using several financial measures.
