Trends in power control during soft handoff in downlink direction of 3G WCDMA cellular networks

Power control and soft handoff are the two essential techniques for effectively increasing the spectrum efficiency in a CDMA based system. Soft handoff (SHO) handles the mobility of mobile terminals while power control aims at minimizing the total interference in a CDMA system. During SHO power control procedure is more complicated since at least two base stations are involved. Soft handoff and power control exhibit a close relationship in CDMA based systems. This paper presents an overview and critical analysis of published work in power control during soft handoff in the downlink direction of 3G WCDMA cellular networks and discusses current trends therein.