GSM Base Stations Location Monitoring using Geographic Information System

Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) is a digital system developed to meet the desires of the entire public. As the population of a particular area, city or country increases, the number of mobile subscribers increases too. GSM network operators have to reduce congestion on their networks in order to satisfy their subscribers, therefore, a means of monitoring the base stations' locations and the geographical area of where they are located are important factor to achieve this purpose. This work provides a simple step-by-step approach on how to monitor the location of the base stations. A review of GSM and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and their applications to the Geographic Information System (GIS) are presented. The means of taken the coordinates of base stations using a GPS device is also presented. ESRI's ArcView application software was used to design the map that shows the location of the base station and thereafter was integrated into the web. It concluded with the recommendation to GSM operators in Nigeria. If the recommendations are given necessary attention, the planning and optimization of cell sites will be enhanced and thereby reduce congestion on network. As a result, the performance of Network will improve, and it will give rise to subscribers' satisfaction and increasing profit returns to the operators.