Mobile Signal Strength Recommendations
Summary
This chapter is an overview of recommended signal strength levels for different mobile service modes.
Signal Measurement
Signal strength values are defined by a few different measurements which vary even more for different service modes. These measurements are as follows:
- RSSI
- RSRP
- RSRQ
- RSCP
- SINR
- EC/IO
2G (GSM)
2G (GSM) Signal strength is defined by only one value: RSSI – Received Signal Strength Indicator;
| RSSI | Signal strength |
|---|---|
| > -70 dBm | Excellent |
| -70 dBm to -85 dBm | Good |
| -86 dBm to -100 dBm | Fair |
| < -100 dBm | Poor |
| -110 dBm | No signal |
3G (WCDMA, TDSCDMA, CDMA, EVDO, CDMA-EVDO)
For 3G service mode, there are three relevant measurements:
- RSSI - indicates the received signal strength
- EC/IO - indicates the downlink carrier-to-interference ratio (signal quality)
- RSCP - indicates the received signal code power
The RSSI standard values for 3G are the same as 2G
| RSSI | Signal strength |
|---|---|
| > -70 dBm | Excellent |
| -70 dBm to -85 dBm | Good |
| -86 dBm to -100 dBm | Fair |
| < -100 dBm | Poor |
| -110 dBm | No signal |
| EC/IO | Signal quality |
|---|---|
| 0 to -6 | Excellent |
| -7 to -10 | Good |
| -11 to -20 | Fair to poor |
4G (LTE)
For 4G service mode, there are three relevant measurements:
- RSSI - indicates the received signal strength
- RSRP - the Reference Signal Received Power is the power of the LTE Reference Signals spread over the full bandwidth and narrowband
- SINR - Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (A minimum of -20 dB SINR is needed to detect RSRP/RSRQ)
- RSRQ - Reference Signal Received Quality is a C/I type of measurement and it indicates the quality of the received reference signal
| RSSI | Signal strength |
|---|---|
| >= -80 dBm | Excellent |
| -80 dBm to -90 dBm | Good |
| -90 dBm to -100 dBm | Fair to poor |
| <= -100 dBm | No signal |