An ANTS algorithm for the minimum-span frequency-assignment problem with multiple interference

The frequency-assignment problem is concerned with the assignment of discrete channels to the transmitters of a radio network. Separation of the frequencies assigned to transmitters is necessary to avoid interference. However, unnecessary separation causes an excess requirement for spectrum, the cost of which may be very high. The aim of the work is to minimize the frequency spectrum required for a given level of reception quality over the network. In contrast to the majority of the work presented in the literature, the model chosen to formalize the problem takes multiple interference into consideration. This should provide a better approximation of reality. The method proposed to solve this problem is an approximate nondeterministic tree search (ANTS) algorithm, which is a metaheuristic algorithm based on a computational paradigm inspired by the way real ant colonies function.