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Test 1

Information about communication with cell

• a - contains H, if frequency hopping is enabled (otherwise empty). This information can also be found in test 11 and test 12.
• bbb - CH (channel): number of the channel used in communication with cell (decimal). If frequency hopping is enabled, this number changes when the display gets refreshed. This parameter determines frequencies used in communication with BTS:

  carrier (middle) frequency of the transmission channel (MHz)	GSM 900	GSM 1800
  transmission phone-BTS	890 + CH * 0,2	1710 + (CH - 511) * 0,2
  transmission BTS-phone	935 + CH * 0,2	1805 + (CH - 511) * 0,2

  and informs, whether phone use cell working in GSM 900 or 1800 MHz (I write more about channel numbers in test 17).

• ccc - RX: minus is not show if <=-100. This parameter affects following functions:

  • if all channels' signal is weaker than -110 dBm, the phone doesn't monitor channels.
  • if the phone loses signal of your home network, it tries to monitor next available networks and if you don't have access to them, you'll see a network presence symbol and no signal strength bars (but you can make emergency calls)
  • if some other network has a very strong signal (say -85 dBm) and your home network is very weak on that area (for example, -100 dBm), your phone can have big problems with logging into it (you will have to use test 17 to manually force the phone to use proper channel).
  • RXLev parameter value:

    RX (from)	RX (up to)	RXLev
    less than	-110 dBm	0
    -110 dBm	-109 dBm	1
    -109 dBm	-108 dBm	2
    ...	...	...
    -49 dBm	-48 dBm	62
    -48 dBm	morej	63

  • signal strength indicator value on the left side of the display (approximately):

    RX (from - to)	amount of bars
    from -105 to -100 dBm	0
    from -100 to -95 dBm	1
    from -95 to -90 dBm	2
    from -90 to -85 dBm	3
    more than -85 dBm	4

• ddd - TX: level of the transmitted signal (only during connection). If the phone's transmitter is active, there is an * (asterisk) before the value. The lower value, the higher power level (also the one received by your head!) and energy consumption.

  TX (GSM 900)	16		15		14		13		12		11		10		9
  TX (GSM 1800)		9		8		7		6		5		4		3		2
  dBm	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
  Watts	0,012	0,016	0,02	0,025	0,032	0,04	0,05	0,063	0,079	0,1	0,125	0,158	0,2	0,251	0,316	0,398

  and continue...

  TX (GSM 900)	8		7		6		5		4		3		2-0
  TX (GSM 1800)		1		0		31		30		29
  dBm	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43
  Watts	0,501	0,631	0,794	1	1,26	1,58	2	2,51	3,16	3,98	5	6,31	8	10	12	15,8	20

  Watt = 10^(dBm/10)*0,001
  
  dBm = 10*log(Watt/0,001)

  There are following classes describing max phone transmission power:

  GSM 900	GSM 1800
  20 W (not in use) 8 W (car/mobile phone) 5 W (car/mobile phone) 2 W (hand phone) 0,8 (hand phone)	1 W (hand phone) 0,25 W (hand phone)

  Min. phone transmission power in GSM 900 is 0,02 W and in GSM 1800 is 0,0025 W (4 dBm).

  Max BTS power level can be found in their description.

• e - This TS indicator shows number of the used time slot
  (0..7 for FR (EFR) or 0..15 for HR). For phones with HSCSD (like Nokia 6210) use also test 8 for it.

• ff - TA (Timing Advance): BTS informs the phone, when it should start transmission (so that it reaches BTS in time). This information is shown by this indicator. It lets us calculate approximate distance between phone and BTS, which is a value between TA*550 m and (TA+1)*550 m (remember, that sometimes signal is refracted and
  distance evaluated with this parameter can be wrong). This parameter is updated during communication with network (sending/receiving SMSes, calling, requesting services), for example when using SDCC and TFR channels. It ranges from 0 to 63 (up to 35 km) with FR and EFR channels. HR channels offer theoretically (for example with a car antenna (higher transmitting power) and a flat terrain) twice this range (up to 70 km) and TA contains value up to 128 (English descriptions which I use don't say a word about it - so, it's possible, that for values bigger than 64 phone (?) decreases 64 from it and displays such value in this menu).

  Tip: you can use ALS (Alternative Line Service) function or try to call for "*" number, when you want to refresh it...

• g - RXQUAL_SUB (rate of transmission errors with DTX active
  (DTX state can be checked in test 12)): it determines, how many errors during connection have to be corrected by the phone for the call to be possible. Range 0 - 7 (0 - means no errors; more than 5 - connection may be interrupted). The higher it is, the worse quality you have...

  RQ value	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
  Max error amount	<0,2%	<0,4%	<0,8%	<1,6%	<3,2%	<6,4%	<12,8%	>12,8%

• mmmm - RLT (Radio Link Timeout): if it is negative, 0 is shown. Max value of this parameter is 64. If the phone uses a channel different than TCH or SDCC, xx is displayed

• nnn - C1 parameter

• ppp - C2 parameter. If network supports only GSM Phase 1, C1 value is displayed here.

• oooo - type of channel currently used by the phone (visit www.pins.co.uk/upages/stratfordc/ to find C programs containing algorithms used to encode different channels). With HR channels phone even show, if first or second part of TS is used (subchannel 0 or 1 is written):

  AGCH	(Access Grant Channel) - a channel used by BTS to inform the phone about what channel it should use (it is a BTS answer to RACH) - it assigns the phone to SDCCH
  BCCH	(Broadcast Control Channel) - a channel in direction BTS-phone, containing precise information about network (needed for identification and access) - for example how often the phone should inform network about its location (T3212 counter value - more detailed description in test 10) whether frequency hopping is supported by the network CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS parameter (see C2 parameter description) CELL_BARRED parameter (which informs, whether this cell is in test phase or is available for public use - but the phone can ignore this and use test cells too - see test 19)
  THR0	TCH HR subchannel 0
  THR1	TCH HR subchannel 1
  TFR	TCH FR
  TEFR	TCH EFR
  F144	TCH FR - data transmission, speed 14.4 kbit/sec.
  F96	TCH FR - data transmission, speed 9.6 kbit/sec.
  F72	TCH FR - data transmission, speed 7.2 kbit/sec.
  F48	TCH FR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec.
  F24	TCH FR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec.
  H480	TCH HR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec., subchannel 0
  H481	TCH HR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec., subchannel 1
  H240	TCH HR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec., subchannel 0
  H241	TCH HR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec., subchannel 1
  FA	TCH FR - used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated Control Channel)
  FAH0	TCH HR -used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated ControlChannel), subchannel 0
  FAH1	TCH HR - used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated Control Channel), subchannel 1
  SDCC	SDCCH (Stand-alone Dedicated Control Channel) - used for system signalization of: establishing connection user verification Location Update executing assigning to TCH sending SMSes
  CCCH	(Common Control Channel ?) - used, when the phone is in standby mode (it doesn't transmit not receive data)
  CBCH	(Cell Broadcast Channel) - a channel in BTS-phone direction used for cell broadcast (for example in Nokia 5110 it can be enabled in Menu 2-5 and Menu 4-2-2, in Nokia 6110 in Menu 1-5 and Menu 4-4-2)
  CCHR	CCCH and CBCH joined in one
  SEAR	the phone is searching for network
  NSPS	(No Serve Power Save) - the phone is not in range of any network, energy saving has been activated (information, whether your SIM card can stop its clock in energy saving mode, can be found in test 51)

Interesting thing: In firmware in Nokia 3210 and 3310 there are strings which shows info about data transmission state ("officialy" these phones don't have this function)...

In Nokia 3110 this test looks similiar:

• cccc - in this phone minus is always shown
• ooo - hex values
• qq - paging mode (see test 2)
• rr - RAR (description in test 2)
• s - roaming indicator (description in test 2)
• tt - BSIC for current cell (see test 2)

Level of received signal (RX) is connected with phone transmission power (TX): the weaker the former, the stronger the latter (take a look at example indications of 6110 using SDCC and TFR channels):

For curious people: some of these data can also be found in Nokia service programs (for example in WinTesla in "Testing" / "RF Information" menu).

Using CCCH or CBCH channel by the phone (if the cell doesn't support cell broadcast - you can check this in test 7) depends on its firmware version and whether cell broadcasting has been enabled (or not) by the user. For example: Nokia 5110 v 5.04 uses CBCH channel, if you enable this feature in Menu 2-5 or Menu 4-2-2 (and CCCH channel, if you disable it). I think, that cell broadcast should be disabled when it is not supported by the network - probably you can save some battery power. It has been corrected in version 5.07 (when CB is not supported by the network, the phone uses CCCH regardless of "Info service" and "Cell info display" settings). Additionally, ccc (RX) parameter can be used to set the direction of your antenna (especially directional one) much more precisely than when using the indicator on the left side of phone's display ! I also have a piece of advice for you: never touch the antenna (in any case, you can check how it affects level of received signal just by holding it with your fingers) ! TA parameter can be also used (apart from calculating the distance to BTS) to measure speed (for example of the care you're driving). I'm serious! But this can be done only when: the road is straight (no bends) the phone uses only one BTS BTS must be located near the road A little bit of mathematics: From Pitagoras' theorem: a2 = c2 + e2 b2 = c2 + f2 So: e = f = Now d = e - f =- If you know: the way traveled by the car (on the drawing: length of "d" segment; it can be calculated form the lengths of "a" and "b" segments (multiples of 513 m (for simplification) read from TA) and c (described later)) time, in which TA has changed (measured by a stopwatch) you can measure your speed. Inaccuracy of this measure depends on: distance between BTS and road (segment "c") velocity itself distance between car and BTS (with longer distance inaccuracy depends less from "c" segment) And here is a concrete example: The original value of TA was 2 and after 15 seconds it has changed to 1. You will get following results: 123,120 km/h (BTS 0 m from road) 124,320 km/h (100 m from road) 128,160 km/h (200 m) 135,600 km/h (300 m) You can assume, that "c" segment is 100 m (or 0 if you count in memory - then d = e - f) and the inaccuracy of the measured velocity is 5 km/h.

In Nokia 2110i/2140 this test looks like follows:

• CH - channel number
• C1 - value of C1
• Rxl - RX level (in dBm)
• Pwr - TX level or "*" (enabled transmitter) or "S" (SDCCH) or "T" (TCH)
• TS - Time Slot
• Ql - quality or received signal
• TA - Timing Advance
• RLT - Radio Link Timeout
• RA - maximal number of Random Access retransmission
• XXXXX - type of actual channel
  • ACCESS
  • CCCH
  • BCCH
  • SEARCH
  • NSPS

In Nokia 2120 this test looks as follows:

and in Nokia 2160 is different:

for Nokia 6160 it looks like follows:

• B = current network/frequency
  • a = a-side 800mhz cellular
  • b = b-side 800mhz cellular
  • A = A-block (30 mhz) 1900mhz PCS
  • B = B-block (30 mhz) 1900mhz PCS
  • C = C-block (30 mhz) 1900mhz PCS
  • D = D-block (10 mhz) narrowband 1900mhz PCS
  • E = E-block (10 mhz) narrowband 1900mhz PCS
  • F = F-block (10 mhz) narrowband 1900mhz PCS

• Be = Bit Error rate in % (0-16)
• TT = last received time alignment value (0-31)
• rssi = received signal strength (dBm) (min= -113dBm, max= -51dBm, 2dB steps)
• DVC = Digital Verification Color code (1-255, - = not locked)
• D = DCC (Digital Color Code) on ACCH (0-3, - = not locked)
• s = SAT color (0-2, - = not locked)
• d = data receiving status
  
  0. no sync/no data
  1. sync/not able to read
  2. reading correcting
  3. reading no correction

• S = slot (1-3)
• chan = channel number (0001-1023)
• Pw = Max access power
  • DCCH: MS-ACC-PWR (0-10, - = not locked)
  • ACCH: CMAC (0-7, - = not locked)

• l = Tx level (0-10, - = TxOff)
• a = audio state (0=off, 1=on)
• CS-state = Cellular State
  • DCCH: SCAN-LOCK : Scanning and locking of DCCH
  • DCCH: DCCH-SEL  : DCCH selection
  • DCCH: CAMPING   : Camping
  • DCCH: REGISTR   : Registration proceeding
  • DCCH: WAIT-ORDER: Waiting for order
  • DCCH: ORIGINAT  : Origination proceeding
  • DCCH: RSELECT   : Reselection
  • DCCH: ORIG-SMS  : Sending SMS proceeding
  • DCCH: TERM-SMS  : Receiving SMS proceeding
  • DTCH: TCH       : Confirm traffic channel
  • ATCH or DTCH: CONVERSAT : Conversation
  • ACCH: OOR       : Out of range
  • ACCH: SCAN-PDCH : Scan primary dedicated control channels
  • ACCH: SCAN-SDCH : Scan secondary dedicated control channels
  • ACCH: SCAN-PCH  : Scan paging channels
  • ACCH: IDLE&nbsp     : Idle
  • ACCH: ACCESS    : Access
  • ACCH: VCH      : Confirm voice channel

This test in Nokia 6185/6188 is, of course ;-), different:

Test 2

More information about used cell

• aa - paging mode:
  • NO : normal
  • EX : extended
  • RO lub SB : paging reorganization

• b - RAR (Random Access Retransmission): max amount of transmissions using RACH channel (Random Access Channel - a phone-BTS channel used to send a network access request - for example during logging in)
• c - if your phone is in roaming, R is displayed (otherwise empty). This information is also shown on the top of the display.
• dd - BSIC value for current cell
• ee - reason of last connection end (this parameter is also present in test 63 and test 39 (you will find explanation there - see description of the first parameter))
• f - RXQUAL_FULL (error rate in transmission with DTX disabled (DTX state can be checked in test 12)): it determines, how many errors have to be corrected by the phone, for the connection to be possible. Range 0 - 7 (0 - means none, more than 5 - connection may be interrupted).

  RQ value	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
  Max amount of errors	<0,2%	<0,4%	<0,8%	<1,6%	<3,2%	<6,4%	<12,8%	>12,8%

• ggg - Cell reselect offset: range 0 - 63 (this value should be multiplied by 2 dB), 'xxx' when transmitting. Needed to calculate C2.

• hh - Temporary offset: range 0 - 7 (this value should be multiplied by 10 dB, 70 dB means infinitely long time), 'xx' when transmitting. Needed to calculate C2.

• iii - Penalty time: range 0 - 31 (it should be multiplied by 20 s), 'xxx' when transmitting. Needed to calculate C2.

• j - information about frequency hopping:

  • 0 - not used (single frequency used - so called RF (Radio Frequency))
  • 1 - used (different RF (Radio Frequencies) used)

• mm - MAIO (Mobile Allocation Index Offset). Range 0 - 63, 'xx' when j=0 (when frequency hopping is disabled - you can check this in test 12)

• nn - HSN (Hopping Sequence Number).Range 0 - 63, 'xx' when j=0 (when
  frequency hopping is disabled - you can check this in test 12)

In some phones (for example, Nokia 8810 or Nokia 5110 with older firmware) you will see parameters in two first lines only...

In Nokia 3110 this test looks as follows:

Description of the parameters can be found in menu test 3 (in this model cccc parameters are always preceded by minus).

This test looks similiar in Nokia 2110i/2140 (description is also in test 3):

In Nokia 2120 this test looks as follows:

• ENCR = when message encryption is on
• CIPH = when Ciphering is on
• DTX = when DTX is on
• XSTBY= when enabled standby is on
• CS-state = see previous parameter for details

and in Nokia 2160 is different:

and here is for Nokia 6160:

• mode = DCCH, DTCH, ACCH, AVCH
• SID = system ID [0-32767, - = not locked]
• DCCH mode
  • M = maximum paging frame class supported by network (1-8)
  • C = current PFC (Paging Frame Class) (1-8)
  • FB = number of F-BCCH slots
  • E = number of E-BCCH slots
  • SP = number of SPACH slots
  • pc = PCH subchannel
  • net = supported network types, bit map (1=suported, 0=not, C=current):
    first bit for Public, second for Private, third for Residential

• DTCH mode
  • DTX = shown when DTX is on
  • ENCR = shown when message encryption is on
  • CIPH or CIPR = shown when voice ciphering is on
  • d = data receiving status (0=no sync, 1=sync)
  • Be = Bit Error rate in % (0-16)
  • TA = current time alignment (0-30)
  • a = audio state (0=off, 1=on)
  • CODEC... = current codec:
    • -EFR- = IS-136A ACELP coder

• ACCH mode
  • XSTBY = shown when extended standby is on

• AVCH mode
  • SAT = SAT validity as measured by DSP (0-32767)

and for Nokia 6185/6188:

Test 3

Information about current and neighbor cells

Meaning of these lines:

1. information about current cell
2. 1st neighbor cell
3. 2nd neighbor cell
4. e,f concern 1st neighbor cell, g,h concern 2nd neighbor cell

• aaa - CH (channel): number of channel used for communication with cell (decimal)
• bbb - C1 values displayed only in standby mode. In active mode (ie. during connection) letter B and BSIC for current cell are displayed.
• ccc - RX: minus is not shown if <=-100. Lets us calculate RXLev parameter value:

  RX (from)	RX (up to)	RXLev
  less than	-110 dBm	0
  -110 dBm	-109 dBm	1
  -109 dBm	-108 dBm	2
  ...	...	...
  -49 dBm	-48 dBm	62
  -48 dBm	more	63

• ddd - C2 parameter
• e,g - contains F, if current cell is located on a restricted area (otherwise empty)
• f,h:
  • B means a cell in test phase (your phone can use barred cells - this can be enabled in test 19)
  • N - a cell given for normal use
  • L - means low level
  • otherwise empty

If you want to see, if actual used cell is barred or not, see on test 19 (it depends on setting in that test)

Sometimes phone shows, that both C1 and C2 for channel are equal -99 - it means probably, that it wouldn't be able to log into it...

In Nokia 3110 this test looks like test 4.

It looks similiar in Nokia 2110i/2140 (desciption is in test 4 too):

In Nokia 2120 this test looks like test 4 in Nokia 2160.

In Nokia 2160 this test looks different (is displayed in DCCH mode only):

and here is for Nokia 6160:

• RS = minimum Received signal Strength required to access cell (0-31, where 0=-113 dBm and 31=-51 dBm)
• SS = minimum signal Strength Sufficient for candidate of reselection (0-31, where 0=-113 dBm and 31=-51 dBm)
• SI = Scan Interval between consecutive strength measurements in hyperframes (1-16)
• b = access burst size (0=normal, 1=abbreviated RACH)
• NA = Number of Analog neighbors (0-24)
• ND = Number of Digital neighbors (0-24)

and for Nokia 6185/6188:

• OWNNUMBER - phone number
• ESN - Electronic Serial Number
• ESN-HEX - hexadecimal ESN
• MD - [AD] changes to [DI] at 800 CDMA

Test 4

Information about neighbor cells

Meaning of the lines:

1. 3rd neighbor cell
2. 4th neighbor cell
3. 5th neighbor cell
4. e,f concern 3rd neighbor cell, g,h 4th neighbor cell, i,j 5th neighbor cell

Meaning of the letters is the same as in test 3 (i is the same as e, j is the same as f)

Sometimes phone shows, that both C1 and C2 for channel are equal -99 - it means probably, that it wouldn't be able to log into it...

In Nokia 3110 this test looks like test 5.

It looks similiar in Nokia 2110i/2140 (description is in test 5 too):

In Nokia 2160 this test looks different:

• bVo = battery voltage
• mod = charging mode
  • FAS = Fast charging
  • COL = Cold battery charging
  • MAI = Maintenance charging
  • ERR = wrong charger or battery not OK
  • LIC = LiION battery charging
  • TXO = charging, transmitter active (connection in progress)
  • *** = charger disconnected

• bs = battery is full or reason for fast charge termination
  • TI = max. charge Time elapsed
  • DV = dV/peak value detected (full)
  • BV = Battery voltage max limit
  • BT = Battery temp max limit (overheat)
  • ** = battery is not full

• Tbat1 = battery temp. a/d reading (subtracted from 1023)
• Tb2 = battery temp. in C (not implemented)
• Wpwm = PWM charge control output (000-250)
• FCmAh = mAh rating of charge given to the battery

In Nokia 2120 this test looks like follows

but it was not implemented.

In Nokia 6160 this test looks like follows

• SID = System Identification Number (0 to 32767, odd for 'A' carriers, even for 'B' carriers, - = not locked)
• Alphatag.. = textual end-user display of current system

and for Nokia 6185/6188:

• CSST - Cellular state: IDLE, CONVE, PLIOS, TIME, SYNC, RELE, PAGE, TRFIN, W_OR
• CHAN - Channel
• B - Network Band and Frequency (lowercase a,b = 800 MHz band; uppercase A,B = 1900 MHz band)
• SID - System ID:
  • [17500] - Clearnet PCS
  • [16422] - BC Tel Mobility
  • [16xxx odd number] - Cantel AT&T

Test 5

Information about neighbor cells

Meaning of the lines:

1. 6th neighbor cell
2. 7th neighbor cell
3. 8th neighbor cell
4. e,f concern 6th neighbor cell, g,h 7th neighbor cell, i,j 8th neighbor cell

Meaning of the letters is the same as in test 3 (i is the same as e, j is the same as f)

Sometimes phone shows, that both C1 and C2 for channel are equal -99 - it means probably, that it wouldn't be able to log into it...

In Nokia 3110 this test looks like test 6.

This test allows you to recognize, how many neighbor cells can "observe" phone in the same time. Examples: in Nokia 6150 you can see info in all rows (8 cells), in Nokia 5110/3310/6210 only in first row (6 cells).

In Nokia 3310/6210 parameters "ef" are never displayed (you can see "xx" only)... These models during standby mode can see only 6 cells, during call 8...

In Nokia 2160 this test looks different:

• ROM SW = ROM software version, e.g. V 65.08
• EPROM SW = EPROM (flash) version, e.g. V 1.45
• Prod type = product type, e.g. NHC-4NE

And here is for Nokia 6160:

• S = system indicator:
  • H = hometype system
  • P = partner roam
  • F = preffered roam
  • N = normal roam
  • X = no service
  • a, b, A, B, C, D, E, F = current band while scanning for a control channel
    (see next parameter for details)

• bandorde = network search order:
  • a = a-side 800mhz cellular
  • b = b-side 800mhz cellular
  • A = A-block (30 mhz) 1900mhz PCS
  • B = B-block (30 mhz) 1900mhz PCS
  • C = C-block (30 mhz) 1900mhz PCS
  • D = D-block (10 mhz) narrowband 1900mhz PCS
  • E = E-block (10 mhz) narrowband 1900mhz PCS
  • F = F-block (10 mhz) narrowband 1900mhz PCS

• NC = Number of Cellular = number of probability blocks to scan in cellular bands
• NP = Number of PCS - number of sub blocks to scan in PCS bands
• IRC = IR Control:
  • 1 = only systems with home SID or SOC are accepted
  • 0 = any system not listed as forbidden is accepted

• RSCO = Rescan Count - rescan time in hyperframes
• RSLO = Rescan Loop - defines when all the bands in bandorder are to be scanned

and for Nokia 6185/6188:

Test 6

Information about preferred and restricted networks of the inserted SIM card.

Meaning of the individual lines:

• last registered network - you used it last time. When you're in home country, it can be your home network (you pay them for your calls - if it is, after choosing it manually (in Nokia 5110 - Menu 4-2-4) phone displays "Home network selected"). 00000, when phone wasn't registered in any network after enabling.
• preferred network - network, to which your SIM card was logged (when it was in its range) - for example in roaming.
• forbidden network - your SIM card was in range of that network, but wasn't allowed to log in...

• aaa - MCC (Mobile Country Code) - code of the network home country (260 for Poland). Decimal value.

• bb - MNC (Mobile Network Code) - network code (different for networks with the same MCC).

  Generally values here are decimal. Sometimes are exceptions (when and why ?) and you can find hexadecimal value here: if you will convert it into decimal and result treat as hexadecimal value (convert it into decimal value again), you will have decimal value of this parameter (for example, 3F hex=63 dec; 63 hex=99 dec). More about it in the question 23.

  When you use phone working in PCS 1900 system (for example, Nokia 6190), this number can be 3-digit long. It's decimal (always ?). If it consist of two digits, you will see "F" instead of last (for example, you will see "30237F" for 302-37 network)

What are these lists stored on SIM card for? Because:

1. the phone doesn't have to waste its power while trying to log to the network, which is forbidden for SIM card (it is checked only once and then stored, so the phone doesn't have to repeat this procedure anymore)
2. when you have automatic network selection enabled, your phone in first turn searches for networks it was previously using ("preferred").

The list of "preferred" and "forbidden" networks is written by the phone (Nokia saves last chosen networks). Preffered networks can be also edited - for example in Motorola and Alcatel phones (not in Nokia). Sometimes it is done by the operator (he writes preferred and forbidden networks to the SIM card before selling it (it's known, that you cannot log to competitive network - it can be stored in card programming phase). Both these lists can be changed using a Czech program called SIMedit (www.compelson.cz/simedit.htm)...

URL http://kbs.cs.tu-berlin.de/~jutta/gsm/gsm-list.html contains list of the MCC and MNC parameters for different networks.

Using this menu you can check (probably - NOT ALWAYS!), where SIM card was used lately (in your country, abroad) and where its owner was traveling

In Nokia 2160 use this test, when you want to "disable" NetMonitor tests.

And here is for Nokia 6160:

Intelligent Roaming Database (IRDB) statistics:

This lists the total count of SOCs and SIDs in each category. The database has a total memory limit of 82 entries, which may be distributed amongst these categories:

PSC = number of Partner SOCs

PSD = number of Partner SIDs

FSC = number of Preffered SOCs

FSD = number of Preffered SIDs

XSC = number of Forbidden SOCs

XSD = number of Forbidden SIDs

Partner SOC/SID = treated like the home system by the phone

Preffered SOC/SID = preferred over neutral (undefined) systems when available

Forbidden SOC/SID = rejected by the phone as service providers

and for Nokia 6185/6188:

Test 7

Information about current (recently monitored) cell

• a - 1, if emergency calls (112) are possible
• b - 1, if IMSI attach and IMSI detach are possible
• c - 1, if the cell supports HR channels
• d - 1, if C2 values are broadcasted
• e - 1, system information 7 and 8 are broadcasted
• f - 1, if the cell supports cell broadcasting (CBCH channel)
• g - 1, if cell re-establishment is possible

Last two lines are present only in dual phones (GSM 900/1800 - for example Nokia 6150 and 3210):

• h - 1 in standby mode, if ECSC (Early Classmark) sending is supported. During a call "x" is displayed.
• i - 1 in standby mode, if 2-Ter messages are supported. During call "x" is displayed
• j - information (if supported) which cells from both frequencies bands (900 and 1800 MHz) are shown (MULTIBAND_REPORTING parameter value). Description from Phase2+ ETSI GSM 05.08 version 5.4.0, section 8.4.3 "Additional cell reporting requirements for multi band MS" specification:
  • 0 - 6 strongest cells (with known and allowed NCC from BSIC), regardless their frequency band (900 or 1800 MHz)
  • 1 - strongest cell (with known and allowed NCC from BSIC) in each frequency band on BA list, except for frequency band of the current cell. Remaining positions should be used to show cells in frequency band of the current cell. If there are free positions left, further strongest and recognized cells from other bands are shown (their frequencies bands are not important).
  • 2 - like in 1, but two strongest cells are shown first (with known and allowed NCC from BSIC) in each band...
  • 3 - three strongest cells are shown first...

If your phone wasn't logged to any network, some default values are shown.

In Nokia 6160 this test is different:

and here is for Nokia 6185/6188:

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