TEL · 003 / OF 006 |
Telecommunications |
Telecommunications infrastructure mapping uses open-source datasets, community-contributed databases, and spatial querying tools to identify, locate, and characterise physical network assets: cell towers, base stations, microwave links, data centres, and submarine cable landing points. The method produces georeferenced inventories of network infrastructure that can establish coverage footprints, identify operational carriers, and document physical chokepoints relevant to conflict, sanctions, or connectivity investigations. Output is cross-validated against satellite imagery and carrier regulatory filings to confirm asset existence and ownership.
Use this method to map cellular coverage gaps in conflict zones where network blackouts indicate infrastructure targeting, to identify submarine cable landing stations in sabotage or surveillance investigations, to approximate a device's location from the serving cell IDs recorded in lawfully obtained CDR data, or to cross-reference tower locations against satellite imagery confirming construction, damage, or removal. A tower present in OpenCellID is not confirmed operational. A carrier tag in CellMapper reflects branding, not necessarily infrastructure ownership. Each database reading, taken alone, is provisional. The picture, corroborated across regulatory filings and satellite imagery, is not.
TEL-003 sets out the methodology for querying, georeferencing, and attributing physical telecommunications infrastructure to evidentiary standard.
Forensic count Eight workflow steps, eight tooling sources, six false-positive checks, six chain-of-custody requirements. |
01 Required Tools Eight platforms covering OpenCellID, Overpass Turbo, CellMapper, TeleGeography, Ofcom, and FCC ASR. | 02 OPSEC Sandboxed query environments, server-side logging risks, bounding box exposure, and registration account hygiene. |
03 Workflow Eight-step sequence from infrastructure type definition through OSM querying, satellite overlay, and regulatory attribution. | 04 False Positives Crowdsourced coordinate inaccuracy, inconsistent OSM tagging, decommissioned towers, and carrier branding misattribution. |
05 Chain of Custody Six requirements covering query URL archiving, GeoJSON hashing, screenshot capture, and imagery acquisition date recording. | 06 Key Queries Eight-operator reference across Overpass Turbo, OpenCellID API, Ofcom, FCC ASR, and TeleGeography. |
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A PDF version of TEL-003 is available below for Signal subscribers.
The rest of this card is for Signal subscribers.
What remains: the step sequence, the tool list, the false-positive checks and the chain-of-custody note.
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