That is confusing. But I don't know as much as I'd like about the radio interface, even though I have been hacking Android since the beginning.
I constantly check the signal using SCP, since changing to Sprint a year ago. The outdoor signal here is so bad, a MagicBox v2 wouldn't sync with anything. In south Macomb County.
Go 3 miles up the street and it's the fastest DL speed I've ever seen, by far (including VZW and TMo). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯