Analysis of Spatial Distribution and Pattern of GSM Mast Location in Jalingo Town, Taraba State Nigeria
Abstract
The need for communication and connection between humans has necessitated the proliferation of GSM masts across Nigeria. This study analyses the spatial distribution and pattern of GSM masts location in Jalingo town, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study include identifying the location of GSM masts, mapping out the location and analyzing the spatial distribution and pattern of GSM mast location in the study area. A geo-database was created using ArcGIS 10.1 software to show the spatial location and distribution of base stations across the study area. The Nearest Neighbor Analysis (NNA) of the spatial statistical tool in ArcGIS 10.1 was also computed to reveal the spatial pattern. The vector shapefiles in the database were imported into the ArcGIS environment to create a visual map of points and polygon feature classes. The existing base stations (masts) in the study area were identified and mapped out. A geo-database was created using ArcGIS 10.1 software to show the spatial location and distribution pattern of GSM mast on the map across the study area. The result of the analysis reveals nearest neighbor ratio (NNR) of 0.816940 with a Z-score (critical value) of -2.689989, which reveals that the masts are randomly distributed across Jalingo town. Based on the findings, the study recommends that service providers should embrace the idea of co-location of telecommunication infrastructures as advised by the regulatory bodies (NCC and NESREA), which will reduce operational cost due to duplication of facilities and to avoid clustering of mast in the environment. This means several telecommunication providers can use same mast which ultimately reduces the number of masts over space.
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References
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