Ok, Here we go.
- You got the part that GSM is different than CDMA correctly.
- Also The part that EVDO is the data transport protocols on CDMA while HSPA is the equivalent in GSM.
- The Modulation (data representation in the signal) is completely different between CDMA and GSM. That is why you can't use equivalent units (B.E.R) to calculate the quality of a signal sent by those different protocols.
Now for the measurement values we got:
DBM is a pure signal power measurement unit (in decibel) the more you get the higher reception you have. This covers (getCdmaDbm()
and getGsmSignalStrength()
)
Bit Error Rate: Is a simple quality measurement unit for GSM link, the lower it is the higher the quality of the received signal (independent of signal strength).
EC/IO Represents the ration of Power of signal received to the power of interference signal. the higher this value the higher the quality of the signal you are getting (Regardless of its strength) . in details
RSSI is a signal power measurement unit also.
Now the reason there is two APIS for RSSI and ECIO is that EVDO is carried on part of the CDMA signal so it makes sense that it may have different quality figures than the whole CDMA signal.
hope that helps