Decision support in rural telecommunication network planning

In this work the authors present the relevant features and methodological approaches of a DSS (Decision Support System) for dynamic planning of rural telecommunication networks. They outline the complexities and difficulties of the formulation and of the planning process. A relevant feature of the model is the attempt to integrate AI techniques and specialized heuristics (using mathematical programming algorithms for particular sub-problems), aiming at obtaining solutions of better quality. The structure of the DSS is presented and justified as well as the main procedures of the model, regarded from the point of view of the decision environment.