Disclaimer:
Please note the follow tips apply only to Nokia cellphones, except for the iDEN section which only pertains to Motorola iDEN handsets. The tips refer to specific screens of the netmonitor function built into most Nokia phones (except newer GSM models which come without this feature). This page only covers specific screens that detail static network parameters, for more complete information please refer to the Netmonitor FAQ. This page will not detail how to get free SMS messages, free ringtones, unlock a phone or enable Netmonitor. There are hundereds of websites that touch on on those subjects. That being said, it hoped that this page is of some use to those interested in collecting static information from the various types of mobile phone networks in the U.S. and elsewhere CDMA, GSM, TDMA as well as iDEN have been deployed.

Notes:
Please keep in mind netmonitor screens and functionality differs between phones and even firmware revisions. The screen numbers refered to in the CDMA section do not refer to the same screen number in the GSM or TDMA versions of netmonitor and vice versa. For all Nokia phones you can depress and hold either the * or # key (depends on the type of phone) for a predetermined period of time (this also varies between phones) when viewing a netmonitor screen to obtain english labels of the displayed parameters. Reverse this process to return back to the normal netmonitor screen.

1. CDMA parameters
2. GSM parameters
3. TDMA parameters
4. iDEN parameters

Tips

1. CDMA paramters
   
   Static site data is found on screen #6 (Fig. 1-1) and screen #2 (Fig. 1-2). Screen #6 displays the SID (underlined in green), Base_ID (underlined in blue) and the NID (underlined in red). NID and SID are global to a site. The Base_ID has a corresponding PN Offset (found on screen #2) and is unique to each sector. The PN offset is on screen #2 (underlined in blue). Done properly you should jot down that sector X has a Base_ID of 00553 and a corresponding PN offset of 282. This will change for sector Y and Z of that site respectively.
   
   It may be helpful to consult this table of CDMA Carrier Network Configurations for an idea of some typical parameter characteristics.
   

   Fig. 1-1	Fig. 1-2

   
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2. GSM paramters
   
   All static parameters are contained on screen #11 (Fig. 2-1) and are generally self explanitory. Elements of interest include the LAC (Location Area Code) underlined in yellow, the CCNC combo underlined in red and the CID which has been underlined in blue. You should normally drop the last digit of the CID for US providers (show by the vertical blue line after the 5). I would recomend you record the unique part of the CID and its corresponding LAC and maybe the CCNC. LACs can be renumbered but only VoiceStream/T-Mobile USA do this on a large scale basis with any frequency. Some carriers will subdivided existing LACs (Triton PCS). Generally, only a handful of sites will change LACs as an operator goes about optimizing their network.
   
   Screen #1 (Fig. 2-2) shows the signal strength in -dB (circled in red) and the control channel of the sector your one. I would not recomend recording control channels as these are changed when a cell's LAC is changed.
   

   Fig. 2-1	Fig. 2-2

   
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3. TDMA paramters
   
   Screen #1 (Fig. 3-1) and screen #2 (Fig. 3-2) are generally the only screens of interest. Most of the time you will only be concerned with screen #1 which displays the signal strength (RSSI) in -dB (underlined in blue), the DVCC (underlined in green) and the sector control channel (underlined in red). Screen #2 displays the SID (underlined in red). On screen #1 you only want to jot down the DVCC (a semi-unique number between 0 and 255 used to id a site within a certain area).
   

   Fig. 3-1	Fig. 3-2

   
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4. iDEN parameters
   
   
   

   Coming soon

   Fig. 4-1

   
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