Using data on communications traffic in a new approach to analyzing large-scale social networks and user-dynamics

Many studies of social networks have recently been published. Interest in topological structures, such as scale-free characteristics, has been particularly strong. In this paper, we focus on the analysis of traffic data in a communications network as a way of investigating large-scale social networks. Behaviors of information exchange between pairs of cellular phone users are reflected in traffic data, which thus reflects interesting features of social networks. We analyze the relation between the number of the customers and the volume of traffic with a view to finding clues to the structure of social networks among the very large set of potential customers of the service. We then demonstrate some interesting features that our analysis reveals: a scale-free topology of human relations, and behaviors of user-dynamics. Through these discussions, we emphasize the importance of traffic analysis for investigating social issues.