Last mile cable route optimization using openstreetmap data - an experiment

The proceeding development of future communi- cation networks depends on the continuous expansion of high bandwidth, fiber optic communication networks. While the costs for passive hardware components have fallen during the last years, the costs of building the cable route on the last mile (excavation and surface reconstruction work) is still the cost driver of network construction projects. A promising approach to minimize the investment costs is to use real-world spatial data together with mathematical optimization algorithms. This study examines the applicability of openly available spatial data in a cable route optimization approach. Based on OpenStreetMap data, a graph, as the fundamental structure of the applied operations research algorithm, is generated and weighted with real-world construction costs. Running an area-wide network construction experiment, the quality and validity of the generated graph is compared to a graph based on commercial spatial data. The results show that the approach of using collaborative collected spatial data in the last mile cable route optimization is promising.