On the relative power levels required by handsets in DS-CDMA FH-CDMA and narrow band cellular radio systems

It has been suggested that the transmit powers required for a mobile unit in a cellular radio system are lower for DS-CDMA based systems than for systems using narrowband modulation. This paper investigates whether this is an intrinsic property of DS-CDMA. Ideal systems, all with the same thermal noise spectral density are considered. Coiling and interleaving are included. The results suggest that when systems are operating near capacity, DS-CDMA mobiles require similar transmit powers to mobiles in other systems. For system loads less than capacity, however, the power requirement of DS-CDMA mobiles is smaller than that of mobiles in other systems.<>