Evaluation of LTE signal quality



  • We would like to implement LTE signal quality reporting in our products. Which LTE radio parameters are most relevant and how to interpret them?

    E.g. command 'AT!="showphy"' returns following statistics:

    DL SYNCHRO STATISTICS
    =====================
        Synchro state                         : DRX_SLEEP
        PPU SIB1 ACQ watchdog                 : 0
        Frequency Hypothesis RF  (Hz)         : 0
        RSRP (dBm)                            : -82.43
        RSRQ  (dB)                            : -11.18
        Channel estimation state (Cell-spec.) : HIGH CINR
        Channel estimation state (UE-spec.)   : LOW CINR
        Channel estimation state (MBSFN)      : LOW CINR
        Channel estimation CINR               : 19.00
        Channel length                        : SHORT
      AGC
        AGC RX gain (dB)                      : 44.79
        RX PSD BO (dBFs)                      : -21.21
        RX PSD (dBm)                          : -85.27
        Noise level RS (dBm)                  : -100.49
        Digital gain (dB)                     : 3.68
        CINR RS (dB)                          : 18.06
      NARROWBANDS
        Last DL NB                            : Central
        Last UL NB                            : 0
      AFC
        Frequency offset RF  (Hz)             : -376
        Frequency offset BB  (Hz)             : 0
      PBCH
        MIB received quantity                 : 0
        MIB timeout quantity                  : 0
    

    Command 'AT+CESQ' reurns "not known or not detectable" for rxlev (Received signal strength level), ber (Channel bit error rate), rscp (Received signal code power) and ecno (Ratio of the received energy per PN chip to the total received power spectral density). Quality parameters rsrq (Reference signal received quality) and rsrp (Reference signal received power) are determined.

    +CESQ: 99,99,255,255,17,58
    


  • @danielm Did you ever get an answer to WHY 'AT+CESQ' fails to return:
    RECEIVED SIGNAL STRENGTH LEVEL
    CHANNEL BIT ERROR RATE
    RECEIVED SINGAL CODE POWER
    RATIO OF RECEIVED ENERGY

    i.e. the first 4 parameters in the command?



  • Anything down to -12dBm is usually OK



  • @kjm
    How exactly do you usually interpret RSRQ values from range -3 to -20dB?
    In a table available in the following link RSRQ < -11dB is considered to indicate poor signal quality:
    http://usatcorp.com/faqs/understanding-lte-signal-strength-values/

    Attach/connect time relation with link quality is quite interesting.



  • I like to use RSRQ because it's known range (-3 to -20) makes it easy to filter out bogus values. The big problem is that connection reliability & data rate usually has a lot more to do with tower loading than signal strength. Often how long it takes to attach & connect says a lot more about what sort of data session your likely to have.


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