Towards Real-Time Road Traffic Analytics using Telco Big Data

Abstract

A telecommunication company (telco) is traditionally only perceived as the entity that provides telecommunication services, such as telephony and data communication access to users. However, the IP backbone infrastructure of such entities spanning densely urban spaces and widely rural areas, provides nowadays a unique opportunity to collect immense amounts of mobility data that can provide valuable insights for road traffic management and avoidance. In this paper we outline the components of the Traffic-TBD (Traffic Telco Big Data) architecture, which aims to become an innovative road traffic analytic and prediction system with the following desiderata: i) provide micro-level traffic modeling and prediction that goes beyond the current state provided by Internet-based navigation enterprises utilizing crowdsourcing; ii) retain the location privacy boundaries of users inside their mobile network operator, to avoid the risks of exposing location data to third-party mobile applications; and iii) be available with minimal costs and using existing infrastructure (i.e., cell towers and TBD data streams are readily available inside a telco). Road traffic understanding, management and analytics can minimize the number of road accidents, optimize fuel and energy consumption, avoid unexpected delays, contribute to a macroscopic spatio-temporal understanding of traffic in cities but also to "smart" societies through applications in city planning, public transportation, logistics and fleet management for enterprises, startups and governmental bodies.