Reference Signals Received Power (RSRP) and Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) are key measures of signal level and quality for modern LTE networks. In cellular networks, when a mobile device moves from cell to cell and performs cell selection/reselection and handover, it has to measure the signal strength/quality of the neighbor cells. In the procedure of handover, the LTE specification provides the flexibility of using RSRP, RSRQ, or both.
RSRP – Reference Signal Received Power is an RSSI type of measurement. It is the power of the LTE Reference Signals spread over the full bandwidth and narrowband. A minimum of -20 dB SINR (of the S-Synch channel) is needed to detect RSRP/RSRQ.
RSRQ – Reference Signal Received Quality: Quality considering also RSSI and the number of used Resource Blocks (N) RSRQ = (N * RSRP) / RSSI measured over the same bandwidth. RSRQ is a C/I type of measurement and it indicates the quality of the received reference signal. The RSRQ measurement provides additional information when RSRP is not sufficient to make a reliable handover or cell reselection decision.
You can find more information on RSRP and RSRQ values in the 4G (LTE) section of the Mobile Signal Strength Recommendations page.
| RSRP | Signal strength | Description |
|---|---|---|
| >= -80 dBm | Excellent | Strong signal with maximum data speeds |
| -80 dBm to -90 dBm | Good | Strong signal with good data speeds |
| -90 dBm to -100 dBm | Fair to poor | Reliable data speeds may be attained, but marginal data with drop-outs is possible. When this value gets close to -100, performance will drop drastically |
| <= -100 dBm | No signal | Disnonnection |
| RSRQ | Signal quality | Description |
|---|---|---|
| >= -10 dB | Excellent | Strong signal with maximum data speeds |
| -10 dB to -15 dB | Good | Strong signal with good data speeds |
| -15 dB to -20 dB | Fair to poor | Reliable data speeds may be attained, but marginal data with drop-outs is possible. When this value gets close to -20, performance will drop drastically |
| <= -20 dB | No signal | Disconnection |
