Single-cell forward link power allocation using pricing in wireless networks

We consider forward link power allocation for voice users in a code-division multiple-access wireless network. Admission control policies are investigated, which base a new call admission decision not only upon available capacity, but also upon the required forward link transmit power and upon the user's willingness to pay. We assume that each voice user has a utility function that describes the user's willingness to pay as a function of forward link signal-to-interference plus noise ratio. The network objective is to maximize either total utility summed over all users or total revenue generated from all users. Properties of the optimal power and code allocations are presented. Our key results show how these optimal allocations can be achieved using pricing. The analysis is complemented with a numerical study, which shows how the optimal prices and corresponding utility or revenue vary with load.