Network assisted power control for wireless data

Effective power control is essential to promote system quality and efficiency in wireless communications. In a previous work, we have determined that power control algorithms devised for cellular telephone conversations do not work well for data. 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.