IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE IN RUSSIA: A GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH
V.I. BLANUTSA
V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Irkutsk, Russia
Keywords: human geography, info-communication-geographical location, fiber-optic network, city, critical telecommunication node, critical telecommunication line
Abstract
In world science there are no approaches to identifying critical telecommunications infrastructure based on the concepts of human geography. The aim of our study was to develop such an approach and to test it using the example of a single fiber-optic network of the Russian Federation. The theoretical basis of the approach was the concept of economic and geographical location and its expansion in the form of info-communication and geographical location. This made it possible to estimate the position of any critical element through the parameters of the network formed by this element. In this context, critical telecommunications infrastructure includes nodes and communication lines, the accidental or intentional disconnection of which leads to the subsequent disconnection of other nodes and lines. It is proposed to distinguish between ordinary, critical, critically dependent and dependent nodes, as well as ordinary and critical lines. The methodical basis of the approach was the author’s algorithm for identifying critical nodes. The initial information was taken from the author’s database on domestic telecommunication lines and Rosstat data on the population of Russian cities as of January 1, 2022. One thousand one hundred and eleven out of 1117 cities were considered, since six cities were not connected to the single fiber-optic network of Russia. The implementation of the geographical approach made it possible to detect more than a hundred critical nodes (cities). The characteristics of the ten most critical nodes are given. The distribution of the number and population of cities across four types of nodes and federal districts of Russia has been carried out. It has been established that most of the critical lines are laid to small towns. The results obtained were discussed from the standpoint of research limitations, simulation of simultaneous disconnection of several critical elements and recommendations for laying new telecommunication lines. The practical significance of the results obtained may be related to the development of telecommunication measures to improve the stability of the fiber-optic network. Three directions of further research are proposed.
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