5. Power control

The CDMA system is particularly sensitive to interference between handsets, and it is therefore necessary to equalize the power received by them as much as possible, while maintaining a good level of quality. Unnecessarily high power increases the noise level in the CDMA channel and limits its traffic capacity. Consequently, the more power is optimized, the more traffic the cell will be able to handle.

In a CDMA system, the base station communicates with the mobile, instructing it to adjust its power up or down. The mobile transmits at just the right level to maintain communication. This function, which did not exist in analog systems, first appeared in GSM networks. However, it is even more effective in a CDMA system, due to the greater frequency of measurements and adjustments. The CDMA base station constantly compares the signal received from the mobile with...