TY - JOUR
T1 - Geographical dispersal of mobile communication networks
AU - Lambiotte, R.
AU - Blondel, V.D.
AU - de Kerchove, C.
AU - Huens, E.
AU - Van Dooren, P.
AU - Prieur, C.
AU - Smoreda, Z.
N1 - Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2008/9/1
Y1 - 2008/9/1
N2 - In this paper, we analyze statistical properties of a communication network constructed from the records of a mobile phone company. The network consists of 2.5 million customers that have placed 810 million communications (phone calls and text messages) over a period of 6 months and for whom we have geographical home localization information. It is shown that the degree distribution in this network has a power-law degree distribution k and that the probability that two customers are connected by a link follows a gravity model, i.e. decreases as d , where d is the distance between the customers. We also consider the geographical extension of communication triangles and we show that communication triangles are not only composed of geographically adjacent nodes but that they may extend over large distances. This last property is not captured by the existing models of geographical networks and in a last section we propose a new model that reproduces the observed property. Our model, which is based on the migration and on the local adaptation of agents, is then studied analytically and the resulting predictions are confirmed by computer simulations.
AB - In this paper, we analyze statistical properties of a communication network constructed from the records of a mobile phone company. The network consists of 2.5 million customers that have placed 810 million communications (phone calls and text messages) over a period of 6 months and for whom we have geographical home localization information. It is shown that the degree distribution in this network has a power-law degree distribution k and that the probability that two customers are connected by a link follows a gravity model, i.e. decreases as d , where d is the distance between the customers. We also consider the geographical extension of communication triangles and we show that communication triangles are not only composed of geographically adjacent nodes but that they may extend over large distances. This last property is not captured by the existing models of geographical networks and in a last section we propose a new model that reproduces the observed property. Our model, which is based on the migration and on the local adaptation of agents, is then studied analytically and the resulting predictions are confirmed by computer simulations.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=47649092306&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.physa.2008.05.014
DO - 10.1016/j.physa.2008.05.014
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:47649092306
SN - 0378-4371
VL - 387
SP - 5317
EP - 5325
JO - Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
JF - Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
IS - 21
ER -