"Mathematical Challenges in Telecommunication"
	Martin Gr\"otschel
	Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum f\"ur Informationstechnik
	and Technische Universit\"at Berlin, Germany
	Abstract:
	This talk will begin with a survey of mathematical
	challenges that arise in telecommunication. Mathematics
	is involved, e. g., in the design and manufacturing of
	chips, devices and network components, the choice
	of locations, the planning of the network topology,
	and the dimensioning of the equipment involved.
	Adequate cryptography, the need of fast data processing,
	demand routing and failure handling require efficient
	and reliable mathematical algorithms on the operational
	side.
	The presentation will focus on the problem of
	designing low-cost telecommunication networks that
	provide sufficient capacity to serve a given demand,
	are based on a chosen technology mix, satisfy various
	technical side constraints, and survive certain
	failure situations. This problem is difficult
	in theory and practice. It will be indicated how
	algorithms integrating polyhedral combinatorics, linear
	and integer programming, and various heuristic ideas can
	help solve real-world instances within reasonable quality
	guarantees in acceptable running times.
	The lecture will also address issues such as: balancing
	the load of signaling transfer points, issues arising
	in packet switching, modeling optical switches and
	all optical networks.networks
	This talk is based on work of the telecommunications
	research group at ZIB, the examples discussed and
	the computational results reported are from joint
	projects with several telecommunication companies.