Communication path determination device, communication path determination method, communication device, communication control device, and communication system

A communication path determination method for determining a communication path on a communication network having a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links connecting the plurality of nodes by free-space optical communications, the method comprising:

• acquisition processing for acquiring weather information and communication quality of at least one link among the plurality of links;
• prediction processing for, based on the weather information and the communication quality of the at least one link, predicting communication qualities of the plurality of links after a predetermined time;
• and
• determination processing for, based on the predicted communication qualities, determining a communication path after the predetermined time.

A communication device for arrangement at one node on a communication network having a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links connecting the plurality of nodes by free-space optical communication, the communication device comprising:

• an optical transmission/reception circuit that performs free-space optical communication with a communication device arranged at another node on the communication network;
• and
• an information processor, wherein
• the information processor executes:
• acquisition processing for acquiring weather information and communication quality of at least one link among the plurality of links;
• prediction processing for predicting the communication quality of the plurality of links after a predetermined time based on the weather information and the communication quality of the at least one link;
• and
• determination processing for determining a communication path after the predetermined time based on the predicted communication quality.