NetScope Network Academy

1. Why do signal bars lie?

The signal bars at the top of your phone screen are not standardized. Android manufacturers set arbitrary thresholds for 4 or 5 bars. Your phone might show 5 bars of 4G LTE with severe network congestion, resulting in near-zero download speeds. To know your real connection quality, you must look at raw dBm (Signal Power) and SINR (Signal Quality). Learn how to verify your carrier metrics with the NetScope Android App.

2. What is dBm, RSRP, and RSRQ?

• dBm (Decibel-milliwatts): A logarithmic scale of cellular power. Since it is below 1 milliwatt, values are negative (e.g. -75 dBm is excellent, -115 dBm is very weak).

• RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power): The core RF metric in 4G LTE and 5G NR measuring carrier power from cell towers. Compare typical levels in Delhi NCR and Mumbai.

• RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality): Measures the proportion of interference vs pure carrier signal.

3. What is SINR and CQI?

• SINR (Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio): The ultimate benchmark of clean transmission. Values above +20 dB allow your phone to use 256-QAM modulation for gigabit speeds in high-density corridors like Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

• CQI (Channel Quality Indicator): A value from 1 to 15 that tells the cellular base station which modulation rate your phone can sustain without packet errors.

4. Why is my 5G slow?

1. Sub-6 vs C-Band: 5G encompasses low-band (700 MHz, slower but long range) and mid-band (3.5 GHz n78, ultra-fast). If connected to low-band 5G, speeds may be similar to 4G LTE.

2. Tower Congestion: High density of users on the same sector.

3. Building Wall Penetration: 3.5 GHz signals struggle to pass through concrete walls. Regional rollouts in cities like Nagpur and Latur are actively addressing this with small-cell densification.

5. 5G Standalone (SA) vs 5G Non-Standalone (NSA)

• Reliance Jio: Built on a pure 5G Standalone (SA) core network utilizing 700 MHz (n28), 3300 MHz (n78), and 26 GHz (n258). Delivers ultra-low latency and true network slicing.

• Bharti Airtel: Built on 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) utilizing existing 4G LTE core infrastructure with 3300 MHz (n78). Offers rapid deployment and broad device compatibility.