Shortcomings and Limitations:
As with any analysis, this project was limited by the datasets that I began with and the accuracy of the land area they represented. I originally wanted to do an analysis of the Lower Mainland, but upon difficulty finding suitable data and realizing the complexity of the cellular network, I decided upon analysis of Vancouver Island instead.
A probably source of error for the end results of my analysis would likely be due to human error. The locations of the prominent cities as well as the current Telus Mobility towers had to be hand digitized. This method is never exact, and often faulty, even though I tried to be as accurate as possible. The end analysis maybe off from several meters to several kilometres due to this step of my project.
The criteria I developed for this project were also intuitively made as I myself was a "potential consumer" of Telus Mobility. I asked myself what criteria would appeal best to me and came up with the 5 criteria. The end result is therefore biased toward my individual opinion and may not reflect the majority of the population. Also, there were other possible criteria that could of been utilized if I had been able to think of them or found suitable data.
Also, a requirement of this project was to use only Idrisi Kilimanjaro to complete my data analysis and other related procedures. As good as Idrisi Kilimanjaro is for GIS operations, the software itself has shortcomings. Minor bugs (as in all software) would frustrate me, or cause my computer to crash on occasion. I began with 8 data files, but upon completion of my analysis, ended up with well over 280 individual files! This was due to constant vector to raster conversions and vice versa, as well as multiple reclassification steps. Idrisi saves each step as a new file and does not convert data "on the fly" a drawback for myself, as I was lost in naming all the new files I was constantly creating.
Incomplete familiarity with Idrisi Kilimanjaro could also have affected the completeness of my data analysis. Limited to the knowledge I had in my manual, there were many other analysis operations in Idrisi I could have used had i obtained the knowledge beforehand .
Conclusion:
My project was based on the question of "Where is the ideal location to place a new cellular tower for Telus Mobility?" A few good locations were found using Boolean Intersection and Weighted Linear Combination aggregation methods. (click on for enlarge images)
The results of these two methods yielded a similar location near Ucluelet and Tofino. This location best suits the criteria of predicting the best growth possibilities for potential Telus Mobility customers on Vancouver Island. This location is close to a major road that leads to both Ucluelet and Tofino. These two spots are prominent tourist and recreational towns on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
These results have been based on the procedures outlined through this project. However, they are not to be taken as the absolute best locations. They have been based toward the criteria I developed for analysis, and therefore maybe biased toward one specific point of view. Other points of view exist that maybe more appealing to budget-oriented minds or environmentalist-oriented minds. I believe that for the best location would require more research and complex analysis.
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