The four wireless signal metrics that show up on every site survey and acceptance test. What each one means and when to use which.
RSSI is total received power including noise. RSRP is the strength of the serving cell's reference signal — the best number for coverage. RSRQ is signal quality in the presence of interference. SINR is signal-to-interference-plus-noise — the best number for capacity. If you only look at one metric, look at RSRP for coverage and SINR for throughput.
On site surveys and acceptance tests, HexTel captures all four metrics with a calibrated scanner or test handset. The deliverable includes coverage maps keyed off RSRP, capacity maps keyed off SINR, and a comparison against the carrier's scope thresholds. Where coverage is good but SINR is poor, the report flags interference for the carrier's RF engineering team.
RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) is the total received power in a channel — including the signal you want plus noise and interference. It is the most generic of the wireless signal metrics; you'll see it on Wi-Fi, LTE, NR, and almost every wireless system. RSSI alone does not tell you whether the signal is usable, only that something is being received.
RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) is LTE/NR-specific. It measures the average power of the reference signals only — not the full channel — across the resource elements that carry the cell-specific reference signals. RSRP tells you the strength of the serving cell's signal, which is the most useful number for coverage analysis.
RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality) is the ratio of RSRP to RSSI, scaled by the number of resource blocks. It captures the quality of the reference signal in the presence of interference. RSRQ between -10 and -15 dB is typically usable; below -20 dB the cell is essentially unusable.
SINR (Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio) is the ratio of wanted signal power to the sum of interference and noise. SINR is the metric that most directly correlates with achievable throughput — high SINR means high modulation order, which means more bits per resource block.
Rough field rules (LTE/NR): RSRP > -85 dBm excellent, -85 to -100 dBm good, -100 to -110 dBm marginal, below -110 dBm poor. RSRQ > -10 dB good. SINR > 20 dB excellent, 10-20 dB good, 0-10 dB marginal, below 0 dB poor. Carrier acceptance thresholds for specific build types (macro, small cell, in-building) live in the project scope and may be tighter.
RSRP for coverage; SINR for capacity. RSRP tells you whether the user can connect to the cell. SINR tells you how fast that connection can go. A site with strong RSRP but poor SINR has too much interference — usually a neighbor planning problem, not a coverage problem.
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