Comparative Analysis of Wireless Signal Propagation: RS and GIS Approach

Abstract

Mobile network systems have become an integral part of daily life, facilitating communication and access to information. However, they are not without their challenges, particularly in the urban areas where signal strength can be affected by factors such as distance, vegetation, and building density. In this study, four different cellular networks signal strength was determined near their respective base stations in an ancient town of Osogbo, Nigeria exploring the free space method. The investigation of the signal strength was carried out mainly around built-up areas and vegetation/forest areas using a Blackberry 7290 wireless handheld receiver. The GPS and EM data obtained were fed into GIS to locate the cellular towers and to create the NDVI and digital elevation pattern map of the study area using the satellite images obtained for the study. Signal strength predicted by integration of Normalized Difference Vegetation (NDVI) methodology was compared with the four different cellular networks obtained. The comparative analysis reveals that values remains almost similar. The study found that RS and GIS approach can provide an effective means of analyzing cellular signal strength, useful for network planning and development in urban areas.