Comparison of distance-based spatial weight matrix in modeling Internet signal strengths in Tasikmalaya regency using logistic spatial autoregressive model

Abstract

To ensure that national development objectives in rural areas are achieved evenly and sustainably, the Government of Indonesia applies the principles of Village Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are derivative programs of SDGs. One of the indicators in measuring the progress and independence of villages in Indonesia is the availability of cellular phone signal access. Cellular phone signals have a vital role because most internet users in Indonesia rely on mobile data connections from cellular operators. However, the signal emitted by a provider tower has a limited range. According to the data of the Developing Villages Index in 2022, Tasikmalaya Regency is one of the regencies with the highest number of villages that have weak signal strength in West Java Province, Indonesia. To examine the effect of distance and height difference between the placement of the nearest provider tower and the location of the Village Office on the internet signal strength category in Tasikmalaya Regency, Logistic Spatial Autoregressive modeling is needed. In this study, the Bayesian Markov-Chain Monte Carlo estimation method was used, because it has advantages in flexibility and computational efficiency. In spatial modeling, there is a spatial weight matrix determined by the researcher’s understanding of the observed phenomenon. The variable observed in this study is signal strength, which has an orientation at a distance. However, there are several types of distance-based spatial weight matrices, such as K-nearest neighbor, radial distance, power distance, and exponential distance. To determine the most suitable distance-based spatial weight matrix in internet signal strength modeling, the four (4) weight matrices were compared based on the goodness of fit measure models, calculated from the confusion matrix. The results of the analysis showed that the radial distance weight matrix with a threshold distance of d = 1.7km is the most suitable use of distance-based spatial weight matrix in internet signal modeling in Tasikmalaya Regency. The weight matrix exerted a positive spatial autocorrelation effect of 57.141%. In addition, the height difference factor between the location of the provider tower with the location of the village office has a greater effect than the horizontal distance.