| IDs, PN Offsets, and Channel Numbers |
Rogers GSM Bell Mobility Telus PCS Telus Mike
Each cellular technology has a way to identify where the signal your phone is receiving is coming from. Unfortunately it isn't always possible to find this information on all models of cell phones. Generically such a feature is called a Field Test Mode here in North America, though you might also find it referred to as Monitor Mode on European web sites.
Each technology has a different way of identifying the site, but the most reliable one is GSM. Each site in the network is assigned its own unique identification number, which is often referred to as CID, or ID for short. Because these IDs are usually permanent for the life of the site, you can rely on them never changing.
CDMA networks distinguish between one site and other using what's known as the Pseudo Noise Offset, or PN Offset for short. These offsets are akin to channel numbers, and each sector of each site has a different offset, but they'd unique. These numbers are repeated throughout the network, but they are usually repeated a great enough distances that you wouldn't confuse a signal from one with the far-away signal from another. PN Offsets are fairly stable, and they don't change much over time. However, there is no guarantee that they won't change.
iDEN networks have only channel numbers to identify a signal, and channel allocations are subject to change at any time. In fact, Telus re-worked most frequency plan on Mike back in the summer of 2003, and so there is no way of knowing how long known channel allocations will remain static. Fortunately I can keep these values up-to-date through the Industry Canada database, so always refer to my page for new channel assignments.
I have collected the IDs, PN Offsets, and channel numbers of all the networks in Southern Ontario. Click on the appropriate link at the top of the page.
