What is SS-RSRP?
SS-RSRP (SS Reference Signal Received Power) is the linear average power of the resource elements carrying the Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) within the SS/PBCH block, measured by the UE. It is the primary measurement for determining cell signal strength in 5G NR — analogous to RSRP in LTE but measured on the SSB instead of CRS. SS-RSRP is used for cell selection/reselection in idle mode and as input for handover decisions in connected mode.
How Does SS-RSRP Work?
The UE measures SS-RSRP by identifying the SSS resource elements within each detected SS/PBCH block and computing the average received power per resource element. The measurement is beam-specific — each SSB corresponds to a specific beam direction, and the UE reports the SS-RSRP per beam. The gNB uses these per-beam SS-RSRP reports for beam management decisions and L3 filtering for mobility. SS-RSRP range is defined from -156 to -31 dBm with 1 dB resolution. For cell selection, the UE compares SS-RSRP against thresholds defined in SIB (Smin). For handover, the gNB configures measurement events (A1-A6, B1-B2) based on SS-RSRP with hysteresis and time-to-trigger parameters.
Use Cases
5G NR cell selection and reselection, beam-level signal strength measurement, handover trigger evaluation, coverage analysis and drive testing, and network optimization using SS-RSRP heatmaps.
3GPP / Standards Reference
3GPP TS 38.215 (NR physical layer measurements), 3GPP TS 38.133 (NR RRM requirements — SS-RSRP accuracy)
Related Terms
SS-RSRQ | SS-SINR | PSS | SSS | gNB
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This glossary entry is part of the 5GWorldPro Complete 5G Glossary. To go deeper into 5G architecture and technology, explore our 5G Training courses.
