Telephone communication patterns in Austria. A comparison of the IPFP based graph-theoretic and the intramax approaches

Two alternative methodological approaches (the IPFP-based and the intramax procedures) to the problem of pattern identification in spatial interaction data are compared and evaluated in this paper. After a general discussion of the major characteristics and shortcomings of these methodologies, the paper presents the findings of a case study relying on telecommunication data measured by the Austrian PTT in 1991, in terms of erlangs. The results clearly illustrate the superiority of the intramax approach in the context of medium-sized and relatively centralized flow systems.