5G NR Cell Identity (NCI) Calculator

In 5G NR, the NCI is a 36-bit identity to identify a 5G gNB and its local cell id.

Constraints:

  • The NR gNB id can be from 22-32 bits in length
  • Corresponding Local cell id would be 14 to 4 bits
  • The full NCI (gNB+CI) is 36 bits (0 to 68719476735)
  • Max gNB Id with 32 bits: 0 to 4294967295
  • Max CellId with 14 bits: 0 to 16383

calculate Calculate NCI from gNB ID

settings_ethernet Decode NCI to gNB ID

info About 5G NR Cell Identity

The NR Cell Identity (NCI) is a crucial identifier in 5G networks that uniquely identifies a cell within a gNodeB. It's composed of two parts:

  • gNB ID: Identifies the gNodeB (22-32 bits)
  • Cell ID: Identifies the cell within the gNodeB (remaining bits to make total 36 bits)

The NCI is used in various network procedures including handovers, cell selection/reselection, and mobility management. The flexible bit allocation allows network operators to design their addressing schemes according to deployment needs.

Example Calculation

For gNB ID length = 25 bits, gNB ID = 21001, Cell ID = 1:

NCI = (gNB ID << (36-25)) | Cell ID = 7638827009