Stability upper bounds for reverse link power control of CDMA systems

The capacity of CDMA (code-division multiple access) systems is limited by its other-user interference because all users in a cell share the same frequency band. To achieve maximum capacity, the 'near-far' problem needs to be dealt with. In practice, this is done through appropriate power control. Due to the interaction between the power control process, CDMA systems may become unstable if the desired SNR is not set appropriately. When CDMA systems are stable, the received power at the base station converges to the optimal power with a desired SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) setting. We analyze the associated power and the interference estimation in the discrete time domain and find the stability SNR upper bounds that can guarantee the system stability.