Geographic Information System Shortest Route Recommendation for Base Transceiver Station Location in Semarang Regency

Base transceiver station (BTS) towers serve to connect mobile devices with operator networks by sending and receiving radio signals to and from communication devices. The strength of the received signal is influenced by the distance between the BTS tower location and the device, the farther the weaker. In addition, the quality of the signal is affected by disturbances on the BTS tower itself such as infrastructure damage, blackspots, and extreme weather conditions. There are 288 BTS towers scattered in Semarang Regency, owned by telecommunication tower providers and mobile operator networks. Each BTS tower requires regular maintenance to ensure the signal quality remains stable. With the large number of towers, a shortest route-finding system is needed to facilitate maintenance staff to get to the tower location. This study aims to examine the geographic information system (GIS) in recommending the closest path to the tower that needs to be repaired using Dijkstra and A* (A-star) algorithms. Dijkstra finds the shortest path by calculating the total weight of all points that need to be passed to reach the destination. A-star searches for a path based on the estimated value of the total weight of the points passed using Euclidean Distance. The route search process by determining the starting point, then selecting the location of the BTS tower, and looking for the shortest route based on possible major roads to the tower using Dijkstra and A-star algorithms. The two algorithms will be compared based on the speed in getting the closest route. GIS testing is carried out using the Black-Box Testing method with Boundary Value Testing techniques to ensure conformity between software and requirements specifications. System testing 82 routes to BTS towers using Dijkstra and A-star, with the average result that Dijkstra is 10 times faster in finding the shortest route than A-star. The result of this research is a geographic information system for finding the closest route to the BTS tower in Semarang Regency. The recommended route is based on major roads in Semarang Regency.