Network assisted power control for wireless data

Effective power control is essential to promote system quality and efficiency in wireless communications. In recent work, we have determined that power control algorithms devised for cellular telephone conversations do not work well for data. In this paper, we derive a new algorithm, Network Assisted Power Control, that maximizes a utility function for each terminal. As in power control for voice signals, the algorithm is implemented via signal-to-interference ratio balancing at the receiver. Unlike telephone power control, the data algorithm requires network assistance to inform terminals of the correct signal-to-interference ratio target.