The Geography of Internet Infrastructure: An Evolutionary Simulation Approach Based on Preferential Attachment

In this paper, the evolution of infrastructure networks is modelled as a preferential attachment process. It is assumed that geographical distance and country borders provide barriers to link formation in infrastructure networks. The model is validated against empirical data on the European Internet infrastructure network covering 209 cities. The average path length and average clustering coefficient of the observed network are successfully simulated. Furthermore, the simulated network shows a significant correlation with the observed European Internet infrastructure network. The paper ends with a discussion on the future uses of preferential attachment models in the light of the literature on world cities and global cities.