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Overview
Cellular network surveys provide a wide range of radio measurements that help determine network coverage, signal quality, expected performance and deployment suitability. Understanding the relationship between signal strength and signal quality measurements is essential when evaluating cellular technologies including GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE-M, NB-IoT, 5G NR and NTN. This guide explains how common radio measurements should be interpreted and compared.
| Product | Description |
|---|---|
| SNYPER-5G Graphyte | 5G NR, 4G LTE, LTE-M, NB-IoT and 2G/GSM Signal Analyser & Datalogger . |
| SNYPER-IoT Graphyte (GL) | LTE-M, NB-IoT and 2G/GSM Signal Analyser & Datalogger . |
| SNYPER-LTE Graphyte | LTE and legacy cellular analyser. |
| SENTRY Network Analysers | Embedded cellular monitoring and survey products. |
| CloudSURVEY | Cellular survey visualisation and analysis platform. |
This guide explains:
Expected Result
At the end of this guide the user will understand how radio measurements relate to coverage quality, network performance and deployment suitability.
Signal strength and signal quality are related but represent different aspects of radio performance.
Signal strength measurements indicate how powerful the received signal is.
Examples include:
Signal quality measurements indicate how usable the received signal is.
Examples include:
A strong signal does not always guarantee good performance.
For example:
Both strength and quality measurements should always be considered together.
RxLev represents GSM received signal strength.
| GSM RxLev Signal Strength Scale | |||
| Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| 0–19 | 20–34 | 35–49 | 50–63 |
Higher RxLev values generally indicate stronger GSM coverage and improved service reliability.
RSCP measures UMTS signal strength.
| UMTS RSCP Signal Strength Scale (dBm) | ||||
| Poor | Weak | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -105 | -105 to -95 | -95 to -85 | -85 to -75 | > -75 |
Ec/No measures UMTS signal quality and interference conditions.
| UMTS Ec/No Signal Quality Scale (dB) | ||||
| Poor | Weak | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -18 | -18 to -14 | -14 to -10 | -10 to -6 | > -6 |
RSRP represents LTE signal strength.
| LTE RSRP Signal Strength Scale (dBm) | ||||
| Poor | Weak | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -120 | -120 to -110 | -110 to -100 | -100 to -90 | > -90 |
RSRQ represents LTE signal quality.
| LTE RSRQ Signal Quality Scale (dB) | ||||
| Poor | Weak | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -18 | -18 to -15 | -15 to -12 | -12 to -9 | > -9 |
SINR represents the relationship between useful signal power and interference.
| LTE SINR Quality Scale (dB) | ||||
| Poor | Weak | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < 0 | 0 to 5 | 5 to 10 | 10 to 20 | > 20 |
SSB RSRP measures 5G NR signal strength using Synchronisation Signal Blocks.
| 5G SSB RSRP Signal Strength Scale (dBm) | ||||
| Poor | Weak | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -120 | -120 to -110 | -110 to -100 | -100 to -90 | > -90 |
SSB RSRQ measures 5G NR signal quality.
| 5G SSB RSRQ Signal Quality Scale (dB) | ||||
| Poor | Weak | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < -20 | -20 to -15 | -15 to -10 | -10 to -5 | > -5 |
SSB SINR represents 5G NR radio quality.
| 5G SSB SINR Quality Scale (dB) | ||||
| Poor | Weak | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| < 0 | 0 to 5 | 5 to 10 | 10 to 20 | > 20 |
HDOP indicates expected horizontal positioning accuracy.
| GNSS HDOP Quality Scale | ||||
| Poor | Weak | Fair | Good | Excellent |
| > 10 | 5–10 | 2–5 | 1–2 | < 1 |
Characteristics typically include:
Characteristics typically include:
Characteristics typically include:
| Observation | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Weak Signal Strength | Improve antenna placement or antenna gain. |
| Poor Signal Quality | Investigate interference sources and cell loading. |
| Variable Performance | Compare alternative operators and technologies. |
| Poor GNSS Accuracy | Improve sky visibility and antenna positioning. |
| Borderline Coverage | Perform additional surveys at alternative locations. |
| Measurement | Purpose |
|---|---|
| RxLev | GSM signal strength. |
| RSCP | UMTS signal strength. |
| Ec/No | UMTS signal quality. |
| RSRP | LTE and IoT signal strength. |
| RSRQ | LTE and IoT signal quality. |
| SINR | LTE and 5G radio quality. |
| SSB RSRP | 5G signal strength. |
| SSB RSRQ | 5G signal quality. |
| SSB SINR | 5G radio quality. |
| HDOP | GNSS positioning quality. |
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