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Overview
Signal strength alone does not determine network performance. A network with a strong signal may perform poorly due to interference or congestion, whilst a weaker signal may provide reliable service if the signal quality remains high. This guide explains the signal strength, signal quality and positioning measurements reported throughout the SNYPER product family.
SNYPER survey results provide multiple measurements that help assess whether a cellular network is suitable for deployment.
The most important point to understand is that signal strength and signal quality are different.
A strong signal does not always mean a good connection.
A good deployment decision should consider:
This guide explains:
Expected Result
At the end of this guide the user will understand how to interpret signal measurements reported by SNYPER products and determine network suitability for deployment.
Signal strength indicates how powerful the received signal is.
Signal quality indicates how clean and usable the signal is.
| Measurement Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Signal Strength | Indicates how powerful the received signal is |
| Signal Quality | Indicates how clean and usable the received signal is |
| Interference Measurement | Indicates how much unwanted signal or noise is present |
| Positioning Quality | Indicates GNSS location accuracy and satellite visibility |
A strong signal affected by interference may perform poorly.
A weaker signal with very little interference may provide reliable operation.
Many cellular signal strength measurements are expressed in dBm.
dBm represents signal power relative to one milliwatt.
Cellular signals are normally shown as negative values.
| Signal Level | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| -50 dBm | Extremely strong |
| -70 dBm | Strong |
| -90 dBm | Moderate |
| -110 dBm | Weak |
| -120 dBm | Very weak |
Important Note
Values closer to zero indicate stronger signals. For example, -70 dBm is stronger than -100 dBm.
GSM surveys may report signal strength using RSSI, RxLev or dBm values.
GSM signal strength provides a basic indication of received radio power from a GSM cell.
| GSM Signal Strength Scale (dBm) | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -95 | -95 to -85 | -85 to -75 | > -75 |
| Min -115 dBm | Max -55 dBm | ||
RxLev is the GSM received signal level value.
Higher RxLev values indicate stronger received signal levels.
| RxLev | Quality |
|---|---|
| 0 to 19 | Poor |
| 20 to 34 | Fair |
| 35 to 49 | Good |
| 50 to 63 | Excellent |
| GSM RxLev Signal Quality Scale | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| 0 to 19 | 20 to 34 | 35 to 49 | 50 to 63 |
| Min 0 | Max 63 | ||
UMTS uses separate measurements for signal strength and signal quality.
The two most useful UMTS measurements are:
RSCP means Received Signal Code Power.
RSCP is the primary UMTS signal strength measurement.
| RSCP | Quality |
|---|---|
| Worse than -95 dBm | Poor |
| -95 to -85 dBm | Fair |
| -85 to -75 dBm | Good |
| Better than -75 dBm | Excellent |
| UMTS RSCP Signal Quality Scale (dBm) | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -95 | -95 to -85 | -85 to -75 | > -75 |
| Min -115 dBm | Max -25 dBm | ||
EC/IO measures UMTS signal quality by comparing useful signal energy against interference.
A strong RSCP value with poor EC/IO may still result in poor performance.
| EC/IO | Quality |
|---|---|
| Worse than -14 dB | Poor |
| -14 to -10 dB | Fair |
| -10 to -6 dB | Good |
| Better than -6 dB | Excellent |
| UMTS EC/IO Signal Quality Scale (dB) | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -14 | -14 to -10 | -10 to -6 | > -6 |
| Min -20 dB | Max 0 dB | ||
LTE performance is normally assessed using:
RSRP is the main signal strength measurement.
RSRQ and SINR are signal quality measurements.
RSSI means Received Signal Strength Indicator.
RSSI represents the total received radio energy and includes:
| RSSI | Quality |
|---|---|
| Worse than -85 dBm | Poor |
| -85 to -75 dBm | Fair |
| -75 to -65 dBm | Good |
| Better than -65 dBm | Excellent |
| LTE RSSI Signal Quality Scale (dBm) | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -85 | -85 to -75 | -75 to -65 | > -65 |
| Min -105 dBm | Max -55 dBm | ||
RSRP means Reference Signal Received Power.
RSRP is the primary LTE signal strength measurement.
It measures the power of LTE reference signals received from the cell.
| RSRP | Quality |
|---|---|
| Worse than -100 dBm | Poor |
| -100 to -90 dBm | Fair |
| -90 to -80 dBm | Good |
| Better than -80 dBm | Excellent |
| LTE RSRP Signal Quality Scale (dBm) | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -100 | -100 to -90 | -90 to -80 | > -80 |
| Min -140 dBm | Max -44 dBm | ||
RSRQ means Reference Signal Received Quality.
RSRQ compares reference signal power against total received wideband power.
It is a useful indication of signal quality, interference and cell loading.
| RSRQ | Quality |
|---|---|
| Worse than -15 dB | Poor |
| -15 to -12 dB | Fair |
| -12 to -8 dB | Good |
| Better than -8 dB | Excellent |
| LTE RSRQ Signal Quality Scale (dB) | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -15 | -15 to -12 | -12 to -8 | > -8 |
| Min -19.5 dB | Max -3 dB | ||
SINR means Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio.
SINR compares useful signal power against interference and noise.
Higher SINR values normally indicate better radio performance.
| SINR | Quality |
|---|---|
| Below 0 dB | Poor |
| 0 to 10 dB | Fair |
| 10 to 20 dB | Good |
| Above 20 dB | Excellent |
| LTE SINR Signal Quality Scale (dB) | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < 0 | 0 to 10 | 10 to 20 | > 20 |
| Min -20 dB | Max 30+ dB | ||
Important Note
SINR reporting ranges can vary by modem implementation. The scale above uses a typical engineering display range.
5G NR uses similar signal strength and quality concepts to LTE, but measurements are often taken from Synchronisation Signal Blocks.
The main 5G survey measurements are:
SSB RSRP means Synchronisation Signal Block Reference Signal Received Power.
It is the primary 5G signal strength measurement.
| 5G SSB RSRP Signal Quality Scale (dBm) | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -100 | -100 to -90 | -90 to -80 | > -80 |
| Min -140 dBm | Max -44 dBm | ||
SSB RSRQ means Synchronisation Signal Block Reference Signal Received Quality.
It is a useful indication of 5G signal quality.
| 5G SSB RSRQ Signal Quality Scale (dB) | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -15 | -15 to -12 | -12 to -8 | > -8 |
| Min -19.5 dB | Max -3 dB | ||
SSB SINR measures 5G signal quality relative to interference and noise.
| 5G SSB SINR Signal Quality Scale (dB) | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < 0 | 0 to 10 | 10 to 20 | > 20 |
| Min -20 dB | Max 30+ dB | ||
LTE-M, NB-IoT and many NTN services use LTE-derived radio measurements.
The key measurements are:
These values should be interpreted carefully because IoT technologies can sometimes operate successfully at weaker signal levels than conventional broadband LTE services.
LTE-M is designed for IoT applications requiring good mobility support and low power operation.
| Measurement | Purpose |
|---|---|
| RSRP | Signal strength |
| RSRQ | Signal quality |
| SINR | Interference assessment |
NB-IoT is designed for low power, low data rate and deep coverage applications.
NB-IoT can often operate at lower signal levels than standard LTE, but poor signal quality can still affect reliability and battery life.
Important Note
NB-IoT can often operate successfully at weaker signal levels than conventional LTE services. Always review RSRQ and SINR as well as RSRP.
NTN services may use LTE-M or NB-IoT style measurements depending on implementation.
For NTN deployments, signal measurements should be considered alongside:
GNSS performance is assessed differently from cellular network performance.
The most useful GNSS values include:
C/N0 means Carrier-to-Noise Density Ratio.
It measures GNSS satellite signal quality relative to background noise.
| C/N0 | Quality |
|---|---|
| Below 25 dB-Hz | Poor |
| 25 to 35 dB-Hz | Fair |
| 35 to 45 dB-Hz | Good |
| Above 45 dB-Hz | Excellent |
| GNSS C/N0 Signal Quality Scale (dB-Hz) | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < 25 | 25 to 35 | 35 to 45 | > 45 |
| Min 0 dB-Hz | Max 75 dB-Hz | ||
HDOP means Horizontal Dilution of Precision.
It indicates the effect of satellite geometry on horizontal position accuracy.
Lower values are better.
| HDOP | Quality |
|---|---|
| Above 10 | Poor |
| 5 to 10 | Fair |
| 2 to 5 | Good |
| Below 2 | Excellent |
| GNSS HDOP Position Quality Scale | |||
| Excellent | Good | Fair | Poor |
| < 2 | 2 to 5 | 5 to 10 | > 10 |
| Min 0 | Max 20+ | ||
Important Note
For DOP values, lower numbers are better. The colour order is therefore reversed compared with cellular signal strength measurements.
| Signal Strength | Signal Quality | Practical Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Strong | Good | Best candidate network |
| Strong | Poor | Possible congestion or interference |
| Weak | Good | May be usable with suitable antenna |
| Weak | Poor | Usually unsuitable |
| Variable | Variable | Repeat survey or review installation position |
| Measurement | Value |
|---|---|
| RSRP | -72 dBm |
| RSRQ | -8 dB |
| SINR | 22 dB |
Excellent LTE network.
The signal is strong and the quality is good.
| Measurement | Value |
|---|---|
| RSRP | -78 dBm |
| RSRQ | -16 dB |
| SINR | -2 dB |
Strong signal but poor quality.
This may indicate congestion, interference or poor cell loading conditions.
| Measurement | Value |
|---|---|
| RSRP | -106 dBm |
| RSRQ | -8 dB |
| SINR | 18 dB |
Weak signal but good quality.
This may still provide reliable operation depending on application requirements.
| Measurement | Value |
|---|---|
| HDOP | 1.2 |
| Satellites Used | 16 |
| C/N0 | 42 dB-Hz |
Good GNSS positioning environment.
| Measurement | Purpose |
|---|---|
| RSSI | Total received radio energy |
| RSRP | LTE / 5G signal strength |
| RSRQ | LTE / 5G signal quality |
| SINR | Interference and noise assessment |
| RSCP | UMTS signal strength |
| EC/IO | UMTS signal quality |
| RxLev | GSM signal strength |
| C/N0 | GNSS satellite signal quality |
| HDOP | GNSS horizontal accuracy |
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Review signal strength |
| 2 | Review signal quality |
| 3 | Compare operators |
| 4 | Check consistency across surveys |
| 5 | Review application requirements |
| 6 | Select the most suitable network |
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