Call for Papers
The Second International Workshop on Planning and Optimization of Wireless Networks
(OPTNet 2012)

21-23 March 2012

Halifax, The Endcliffe Village, Sheffield, UK,

Web: http://www.cwind.org/OPTNet2012

Aim of the Workshop

The aim of the workshop is to bring together both the mobile communications industry (operators, telecom vendors, radio network planning and optimization consulting firms and tool producers) and academia to present and discuss the problems, challenges, directions, and state-of-art in the fields of future wireless communication networks deployment, planning and optimization. The workshop will try to build a bridge between the mobile communications industry and academic research so that future collaborations between two sectors can be identified.

In this workshop, the advances of wireless communications that enable future wireless networks and challenges in network planning and optimization arising from the adoption of new technologies will be discussed.

Topics of interests

We therefore invite for review submissions of up to 1-page abstracts of technical presentations targeting, but not limited to the following topics:

1. Network Planning and Optimization
Automatic planning and optimization methods for UMTS/HSPA/LTE/LTE-A/WiFi/WiMAX and hybrid radio networks
New system simulation and performance evaluation methods
Indoor/outdoor radio propagation models and scenarios
MIMO measurements scenarios
Network performance study using MIMO and smart antennas
Automatic configuration algorithms of femtocells
Mobility management in femto/macrocell scenarios
Interference analysis in femto/macrocell scenarios
Indoor radio network planning and optimization (repeaters, DAS, picocells and femtocells) methods and tools
Radio resource management (RRM)
Dynamic frequency allocation and spectrum sharing techniques
Radio network planning and optimization reference scenarios
Self-optimization and self-healing in LTE networks
Cooperative relay in UMTS/HSPA/LTE and WiMAX networks
Wireless mesh network planning and optimization methods and tools
Transmission and core network dimensioning to account for HSPA and femtocell traffic
Traffic modeling and real network traffic scenarios

2. Future Wireless Communication

LTE and LTE advanced
Relay and cooperative communications
Heterogeneous wireless networks
Femtocells
MIMO and smart antennas
Cognitive radios
Wireless mesh networks
Green Communications
Smart Buildings
Vehicular communications
Smart-grid communications
Machine-to-machine communications

Important Dates

Abstract submission due: 20 February 2012. Please send the abstract by email to mehmet.aydin@beds.ac.uk and wei.ding@ranplan.co.uk with Subject title of “OPTNet12 abstract”

General co-chairs

Jie Zhang, University of Sheffield, UK
Mehmet E. Aydin, University of Bedfordshire, UK


Local organizations

Mehmet E. Aydin, University of Bedfordshire, UK, email: mehmet.aydin@beds.ac.uk
Wei Ding, Ranplan Wireless Network Design Ltd., UK, email: wei.ding@ranplan.co.uk

Registration and costs

Registration of accepted presenters and workshop attendants will be done online through the workshop webpage. No registration fee will be charged. Coffee/tea breaks, lunches and a conference dinner will be provided for free. Participants will have to support their own lodging and transportation costs.

Venue and transportation

The OPTNet 2012 workshop will be held in a conference centre at Halifax, The Endcliffe Village, Endcliffe Vale Road, Sheffield, S10 3ER, UK, which is a venue of the University of Sheffield (www.sheffield.ac.uk). The venue is close to the Peak District National Park (http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/).


Travel information

Sheffield is on the mainline rail network, it is 2 hour 7 min from London by train. It can be accessed by Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool airports within one hour.