How to measure GPRS connection speed?

Can anybody in this group tell me how to determine the connection speed
(or connection quality) between a GPRS device (ie: a GPRS PC card or a
cell phone) and a cell phone tower.

The reason I ask is I am trying to determine if the use of a booster
antenna with a GPRS device provides any increase in connection speed.
To do this I need a method of determining the connection speed between
the tower and the GPRS device.

-Jonathan Klein

---

› See More: How to measure GPRS connection speed?

[email protected] wrote:
> Can anybody in this group tell me how to determine the connection speed
> (or connection quality) between a GPRS device (ie: a GPRS PC card or a
> cell phone) and a cell phone tower.
>
> The reason I ask is I am trying to determine if the use of a booster
> antenna with a GPRS device provides any increase in connection speed.
> To do this I need a method of determining the connection speed between
> the tower and the GPRS device.
>
> -Jonathan Klein

By using the term booster I guess you mean increasing your transmit
power if this is the case you will more than likely be wasting your time.

Provided you are receiving the base or tower at full strength increasing
the signal will have no effect what so ever. As part of the GSM
protocol the phone will even decrease power automatically when it is
receiving a really strong signal to conserve battery life.

Also the speed of the GPRS connection would be set by the network and
would only slow down or appear to slow down with a weak signal strength
if it started dropping packets.

One other thing to realise GSM has limit of 32 km IIRC and beyond that
distance will not work anyway because of the way GSM is set up to have
numerous callers operating on the cell at the same time.

The only effective thing you can really do is ensure your antenna and
feed line back to the phone are in top condition and that the antenna is
mounted in the best possible location for maximum signal.



--
The views I present are my own and NOT of any organisation I belong to.

73 de Simon, VK3XEM.
http://www.aca.gov.au/pls/radcom/cli...IENT_NO=157452
VoIP http://www.TALKonIP.com.au/
Domain Hosting http://www.GizNet.com/

If testing from the wap browser on the phone, go to
www.dslreports.com/mspeed

If testing while tethering through a pc, then go to speed tests on
www.dslreports.com


<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Can anybody in this group tell me how to determine the connection speed
> (or connection quality) between a GPRS device (ie: a GPRS PC card or a
> cell phone) and a cell phone tower.
>
> The reason I ask is I am trying to determine if the use of a booster
> antenna with a GPRS device provides any increase in connection speed.
> To do this I need a method of determining the connection speed between
> the tower and the GPRS device.
>
> -Jonathan Klein
>

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.gsm - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Tue, 04 Oct 2005 08:19:50
+1000, Simon Templar <[email protected]> wrote:

>[email protected] wrote:

>> Can anybody in this group tell me how to determine the connection speed
>> (or connection quality) between a GPRS device (ie: a GPRS PC card or a
>> cell phone) and a cell phone tower.

The best way to measure your speed is to download a file large enough to take
at least a couple of minutes from an FTP server under light load (e.g., in the
wee hours) and time how long it takes.

>> The reason I ask is I am trying to determine if the use of a booster
>> antenna with a GPRS device provides any increase in connection speed.
>> To do this I need a method of determining the connection speed between
>> the tower and the GPRS device.

>By using the term booster I guess you mean increasing your transmit
>power if this is the case you will more than likely be wasting your time.

It could also be receive sensitivity.

>Provided you are receiving the base or tower at full strength increasing
>the signal will have no effect what so ever. ...

True, but it can help with less than maximum signal.

>Also the speed of the GPRS connection would be set by the network and
>would only slow down or appear to slow down with a weak signal strength
>if it started dropping packets.

Speed is based on signal strength, but isn't related to packet loss.

>One other thing to realise GSM has limit of 32 km IIRC and beyond that
>distance will not work anyway because of the way GSM is set up to have
>numerous callers operating on the cell at the same time.

Extended Range GSM works over much greater distances.

>The only effective thing you can really do is ensure your antenna and
>feed line back to the phone are in top condition and that the antenna is
>mounted in the best possible location for maximum signal.

Good advice.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

John Navas wrote:

> Extended Range GSM works over much greater distances.

Unfortunately, GPRS and Extended Range are mutually exclusive.
ER cells can't handle dynamic timeslot allocation in the way
that GPRS requires.

GPRS-capable cells have a maximum range of 35 km (limited by
Timing Advance).

John

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.gsm - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Wed, 05 Oct 2005 06:18:04 +1000, John
Henderson <[email protected]> wrote:

>John Navas wrote:
>
>> Extended Range GSM works over much greater distances.
>
>Unfortunately, GPRS and Extended Range are mutually exclusive.
>ER cells can't handle dynamic timeslot allocation in the way
>that GPRS requires.
>
>GPRS-capable cells have a maximum range of 35 km (limited by
>Timing Advance).

Cells can have a mix of standard and extended range channels.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.gsm - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Tue, 04 Oct
2005 23:07:11 GMT, John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:

>In <[email protected]> on Wed, 05 Oct 2005 06:18:04 +1000, John
>Henderson <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>John Navas wrote:
>>
>>> Extended Range GSM works over much greater distances.
>>
>>Unfortunately, GPRS and Extended Range are mutually exclusive.
>>ER cells can't handle dynamic timeslot allocation in the way
>>that GPRS requires.
>>
>>GPRS-capable cells have a maximum range of 35 km (limited by
>>Timing Advance).
>
>Cells can have a mix of standard and extended range channels.

Oops. Hit the wrong key and sent the message before it was finished:

An extended range site give a theoretical max upload and download on EDGE
of 59.2 kbps, down to 8 kbps in really poor conditions. If the radio signal
is OK this beats telephone dial-up!


<http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:9gC5PPvN2y8J:www.mybroadband.co.za/vb/archive/index.php/t-19418.html+gprs+extended-range+gprs&hl=en&client=firefox-a>

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 06:18:04 +1000, John Henderson
<[email protected]> wrote:

>John Navas wrote:
>
>> Extended Range GSM works over much greater distances.
>
>Unfortunately, GPRS and Extended Range are mutually exclusive.
>ER cells can't handle dynamic timeslot allocation in the way
>that GPRS requires.
>
No necessarily mutually exclusive, but certainly will have a very low
performance. There is no technical reason why it cannot be done,
however the demand for such services is just about zero, so I doubt
anyone is in any hurry.

Extended Range works by sacrificing ever other time slot, so that the
timing advance is no longer an issue. The adjacent time slot is no
longer used (sacrificed, so if the propogation timing exceeds the
available timing advance, it simply causes the transmission to slip
into the adjacent time slot, there is notihng there to interfere with
because that slot is no longer assigned.

I.E. maximum performance in an Extended Range system is 3 down slots,
1 up because there are only 4 time slots per channel instead of 8.

The more serious problem is that most hand helds lacks the transmit
power to get to 35km anyway. if you are talking about a 5 watt (which
cannot be handheld), and something other than an omni-directional
antenna, then you can get well beyond the 35km timing advance limit in
an extended range cell. As far as I know the only significant user of
Extended Range cells is Telstra Australia however, and they probably
aren't going to be putting any more in service. They are serving the
'bush' with CDMA, and CDMA may problems of its own, but timing
advance isn't one of them.

.. From a light aircraft, and upper floors of buildings I have seen
BTS's that were considerably further than 35km.


>GPRS-capable cells have a maximum range of 35 km (limited by
>Timing Advance).
>
>John

matt weber wrote:

> No necessarily mutually exclusive, but certainly will have a
> very low performance. There is no technical reason why it
> cannot be done, however the demand for such services is just
> about zero, so I doubt anyone is in any hurry.

Agreed. The last time I looked, Ericsson ER BTSs didn't support
GPRS. I'm not aware of any other manufacturer of ER BTSs, but
perhaps someone else is.

> Extended Range works by sacrificing ever other time slot, so
> that the timing advance is no longer an issue. The adjacent
> time slot is no longer used (sacrificed, so if the propogation
> timing exceeds the available timing advance, it simply causes
> the transmission to slip into the adjacent time slot, there is
> notihng there to interfere with because that slot is no longer
> assigned.
>
> I.E. maximum performance in an Extended Range system is 3 down
> slots, 1 up because there are only 4 time slots per channel
> instead of 8.
>
> The more serious problem is that most hand helds lacks the
> transmit power to get to 35km anyway. if you are talking about
> a 5 watt (which cannot be handheld), and something other than
> an omni-directional antenna, then you can get well beyond the
> 35km timing advance limit in an extended range cell. As far as
> I know the only significant user of Extended Range cells is
> Telstra Australia however, and they probably aren't going to
> be putting any more in service. They are serving the
> 'bush' with CDMA, and CDMA may problems of its own, but
> timing advance isn't one of them.

Both Telstra and Vodafone have ER cells operating within 200 km
of where I live, and I've used them at considerably greater
distances than 35 km from a handheld.

> . From a light aircraft, and upper floors of buildings I have
> seen BTS's that were considerably further than 35km.

Good signal strength showing at distances in excess of 100 km
(across a valley) for me. I must admit I haven't tried to use
a handheld from an ER BTS at that distance, but Ericsson
Enhanced Extended Range BTSs (with enhanced BTS receiver
sensitivity) are claimed to work at 121 km.

John

John Navas wrote:

> Cells can have a mix of standard and extended range channels.

You're right, of course. I mentioned these on a.c.gsm back last
December.

John

Thanks for the advice.

Here are a couple of clarifications to my original post:

I should have referred to the antenna as simply an external directional
antenna (a "Yagi" antenna). Unless it is needed I don't intend to
consider an antenna with a powered amplifier for the send or receive
signals.

I am only about 500 meters from a cell phone tower of my provider.

My situation is that I work in Tripoli, Libya for most of the year.
When I am here I would like to have internet access. However, I don't
have a land line and installing one can take up to two years. Satellite
internet is illegal here and there is no cable internet. UMTS is not
available in the area where I stay (at least not nearby). So GPRS is
the only alternative.

I am by no means an expert in cell phone technology so correct me if I
am wrong: Maximum cell phone signal strength means communication with
the cell phone tower using code scheme 4. Code scheme 4 provides the
maximum data transmission speed with lowest error correction and lower
codes schemes (3, 2 & 1) are used when signal strength is lower, these
having lower transmission speeds but greater error correction.

My questions:

1) Assuming my above comments about code schemes are correct, I guess
what I really want to find out is how do I determine when my cell phone
is communicating with the tower using code scheme 4 (ie: at the maximum
data transmission rate)?

2) Even if I am connected at code scheme 4 will an external antenna
increase overall speed by reducing packet loss (ie: errors in the data
transmission).

3) Is there any difference in overall speed if I use a GPRS PCMCIA card
with my laptop as opposed to using a cell phone connected via a USB
port?

4) UMTS service is available in downtown Tripoli which is about 18 km
away. Is possible to connect to a UMTS tower at this distance? If yes,
what type of antenna or other hardware would I need to do this?

5) If an antenna will help with transmission speed, any recommendations
on what type I should buy?

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.gsm - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on 5 Oct 2005
09:05:01 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

>Here are a couple of clarifications to my original post:
>
>I should have referred to the antenna as simply an external directional
>antenna (a "Yagi" antenna). Unless it is needed I don't intend to
>consider an antenna with a powered amplifier for the send or receive
>signals.
>
>I am only about 500 meters from a cell phone tower of my provider.

That's so close that an external antenna probably won't help.

>2) Even if I am connected at code scheme 4 will an external antenna
>increase overall speed by reducing packet loss (ie: errors in the data
>transmission).

No.

>3) Is there any difference in overall speed if I use a GPRS PCMCIA card
>with my laptop as opposed to using a cell phone connected via a USB
>port?

No.

>4) UMTS service is available in downtown Tripoli which is about 18 km
>away. Is possible to connect to a UMTS tower at this distance? If yes,
>what type of antenna or other hardware would I need to do this?

UMTS (WCDMA) can work over that distance. A Yagi might be of value in that
case.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

On 5 Oct 2005 09:05:01 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

>Thanks for the advice.
>
>Here are a couple of clarifications to my original post:
>
>I should have referred to the antenna as simply an external directional
>antenna (a "Yagi" antenna). Unless it is needed I don't intend to
>consider an antenna with a powered amplifier for the send or receive
>signals.
>
>I am only about 500 meters from a cell phone tower of my provider.
>
>My situation is that I work in Tripoli, Libya for most of the year.
>When I am here I would like to have internet access. However, I don't
>have a land line and installing one can take up to two years. Satellite
>internet is illegal here and there is no cable internet. UMTS is not
>available in the area where I stay (at least not nearby). So GPRS is
>the only alternative.
>
>I am by no means an expert in cell phone technology so correct me if I
>am wrong: Maximum cell phone signal strength means communication with
>the cell phone tower using code scheme 4. Code scheme 4 provides the
>maximum data transmission speed with lowest error correction and lower
>codes schemes (3, 2 & 1) are used when signal strength is lower, these
>having lower transmission speeds but greater error correction.
>
>My questions:
>
>1) Assuming my above comments about code schemes are correct, I guess
>what I really want to find out is how do I determine when my cell phone
>is communicating with the tower using code scheme 4 (ie: at the maximum
>data transmission rate)?
>
>2) Even if I am connected at code scheme 4 will an external antenna
>increase overall speed by reducing packet loss (ie: errors in the data
>transmission).
At 500 meters, not likely.
>
>3) Is there any difference in overall speed if I use a GPRS PCMCIA card
>with my laptop as opposed to using a cell phone connected via a USB
>port?
Probably not. The underlaying data rate available from USB or the
Cardbus is so much higher than the data rate available from GPRS that
it won't make any difference.The issue will be how many time slots can
the phone use versus how many can the PCMCIA card use. If there is a
difference in overall speed, that is where it will come from.
Obviously if the phone supports 2 downlink slots, and the PCMCIA card
supports, the PCMCIA card will offer about 50% higher data rates.
>
>4) UMTS service is available in downtown Tripoli which is about 18 km
>away. Is possible to connect to a UMTS tower at this distance? If yes,
>what type of antenna or other hardware would I need to do this?
will depend upon the transmitt power on the UMTS tower. The more
serious problem is getting your phone to find it. Your phone picks the
strongest BTS it can find, and won't pick another tower unless it is
either rejected (tower belongs to another service provider), or is
commanded to hand off.
>
>5) If an antenna will help with transmission speed, any recommendations
>on what type I should buy?
Unlikely. The GSM data link runs with a sufficiently high Signal to
noise ratio that it is nowhere near channel capacity, hence the
service tends to be very reliable. All that happpens if you use a
directional antenna, is any gain you get from the antenna will simply
cause the BTS to command your transmit power down! The problem is
rarely BTS->phone, it is usually in the other direction, and to
protect nearby cells from spill, if your phone signal exceeds the
required levels, the transmit power from the phone will simply be
commanded down by the BTS.

At 500 meters, the link margins are going to be huge.

John Navas wrote:
> >4) UMTS service is available in downtown Tripoli which is about 18 km
> >away. Is possible to connect to a UMTS tower at this distance? If yes,
> >what type of antenna or other hardware would I need to do this?
>
> UMTS (WCDMA) can work over that distance. A Yagi might be of value in that
> case.

I didn't realize UMTS would work at this distance. If it will this may
be the better alternative for me to pursue.

Do you know what date transmission rate I can exptect with UMTS at 18
km?

Do you think I will be able to connect with only the built in antenna
on a cell phone?

Do I need a clear line of sight to a tower?

What effect will obstacles such as buildings, haze and fine sand have
on connection speed?

-Jonathan

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.gsm - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on 6 Oct 2005
08:36:28 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

>John Navas wrote:
>> >4) UMTS service is available in downtown Tripoli which is about 18 km
>> >away. Is possible to connect to a UMTS tower at this distance? If yes,
>> >what type of antenna or other hardware would I need to do this?
>>
>> UMTS (WCDMA) can work over that distance. A Yagi might be of value in that
>> case.
>
>I didn't realize UMTS would work at this distance. If it will this may
>be the better alternative for me to pursue.
>
>Do you know what date transmission rate I can exptect with UMTS at 18
>km?

That depends on the signal.

>Do you think I will be able to connect with only the built in antenna
>on a cell phone?

No way to tell without trying it.

>Do I need a clear line of sight to a tower?

That helps.

>What effect will obstacles such as buildings, haze and fine sand have
>on connection speed?

Degrade the signal, and thus likely to degrade speed.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>