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
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
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
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

RSRP
RSRP	Signal strength
>= -80 dBm	Excellent
-80 dBm to -90 dBm	Good
-90 dBm to -100 dBm	Fair to poor
<= -100 dBm	No signal

RSRQ
RSSI	Signal strength
>= -10 dB	Excellent
-10 dB to -15 dB	Good
-15 dB to -20 dB	Fair to poor
<= -20 dB	No signal

SINR
SINR	Signal strength
>= 20 dB	Excellent
13 dB to 20 dB	Good
0 dB to 13 dB	Fair to poor
<= 0 dB	No signal