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

EC/IO	Signal quality
0 to -6	Excellent
-7 to -10	Good
-11 to -20	Fair to poor