Network configuration optimization

A system for configuring a network to provide communications between end user devices and a carrier network, the system comprising:

• a computer-readable medium including service attribute data descriptive of a plurality of network communication resources, the network communication resources being selected from a group comprising network nodes, traffic demand nodes, aggregation points, and relays;
• a preprocessing module operable to receive the one or more service attributes, select a plurality of network communication resources available for communication with the carrier network and further determine at least one transmission mode for use in provisioning communication between each of the selected plurality of network communication resources and the carrier network, wherein the preprocessing module determines the transmission mode by analyzing a plurality of costs corresponding to a plurality of transmission modes that can be used to establish a communication channel between each of the selected network communication resources and the carrier network;
• and
• an optimization module operable to determine an optimal configuration for the network between the end user devices and the carrier network using at least the plurality of selected network communication resources, traffic demand nodes served by the carrier network, backhaul costs, profitability of the traffic demand nodes, and the determined transmission mode(s), wherein the optimization module is further operable to determine an optimal combination of traffic demand nodes served by the carrier network, backhaul costs, and profitability of the traffic demand nodes.

A system for generating a configuration of communication resources and transmission modes within a network comprising a plurality of network nodes, a plurality of traffic aggregation points, and at least one carrier network providing an interface between the network nodes and a wide area network, the system comprising:

• means for determining a plurality of backhaul costs, each backhaul cost corresponding to a cost of establishing a communication channel between a given one of the plurality of network nodes and the carrier network using a given transmission mode;
• means for determining a plurality of network nodes to include in a network configuration based at least in part on the determined backhaul costs;
• and
• means for optimizing the network configuration, wherein optimizing the network configuration comprises at least in part, an optimal combination of traffic demand nodes served by the carrier network, backhaul costs, profitability of the traffic demand nodes, and the determined transmission mode(s).