Finding the base station/cell tower ID MKRNB1500

Official Hardware MKR Family MKR NB 1500
1

Hi! is finding the cell tower ID using the MKRNB1500 possible? Is it also possible to set the mkrnb1500 to only connect to the specific base station id?
I know that it is possible to find the cell tower ID using OpenSignal on Android but the mkrnb1500 library doesn't seem to have such function.

2

It definitely is not possible to get this information via the MKRNB library.

I had a look at the AT command manual for the SARA-R410M-02B modem module used on the MKR NB 1500:
https://www.u-blox.com/sites/default/files/SARA-R4_ATCommands_(UBX-17003787).pdf
It looks like the relevant command is AT+UCGED, documented in section 7.9 of the manual. I believe the cell tower id is the BSIC (base station identity code). From table 5, you can see that the SARA-R410M-02B only supports mode 0 (reporting disabled) and mode 5 (RSRP and RSRQ reporting enabled). So it seems there is no way to get the BSIC when using the SARA-R410M-02B.

If you want to play around with this stuff, you can upload the File > Examples > MKRNB > Tools > SerialSARAPassthrough sketch to your MKR NB 1500, then open Serial Monitor. You can now send AT commands directly to the MKR NB 1500 via Serial Monitor and see the output there.

3

Thank you for your answer! :slight_smile:

4

You're welcome. I wish I had a solution for you rather than an "I don't think you can do it". It seems like it would be kind of cool to have access to this sort of low level information. We are accustomed to this cellular technology that is such an integral part of our lives being completely opaque. I wonder what the reason is for some of the SARA modules providing access to this information, and others not.

5

I did notice that

AT+CEREG=2
AT+CEREG?

will return the "Four bytes E-UTRAN cell-id in hexadecimal format". But I don't really understand what that is, or how the information can be used. I can't seem to find any documentation on these cell network concepts that's written in a manner that a layperson can understand. Maybe there's just no option other than to start by learning the fundamental concepts, then working your way up from there to the more advanced things. I'm just not interested enough in the subject to go to that much effort.