Question

What do the “weights” on a weighted graph that represent a communication network represent?

Answer 1

We represent a network by a graph (N, g), which consists of a set of nodes N = {1, . . . , n} and an n × n matrix g = [gij] i,j?N, where gij ? {0, 1} represents the availability of an edge from node i to node j which is known as edge weight.
The edge weight gij > 0 can also take on non-binary values, representing the intensity of the interaction, in which case we refer to (N, g) as a weighted graph.

For example weighted links that are used for the Internet, to represent the amount of data exchanged between two hosts in the network.

So the “weights” on a weighted graph that represents a communication network represent the intensity of the interaction between transmitter and receiver.