Outer loop power control in a wideband CDMA system

Abstract: The third generation mobile communication systems are based on Code Division
Multiple Access (CDMA) technology. The Wideband CDMA technology is the
European standard and will be a world standard for third generation cellular
systems. One of the main features in a Wideband CDMA system is power control.
The power control is divided into two parts: fast power control and outer
loop power control.

In this thesis an algorithm for the outer loop power control has been studied
and evaluated by simulations in a Matlab simulator called CURT (CDMA UMTS
Radio Network Simulator). Different parameter settings for this algorithm has
been used and evaluated.

Simulations have shown that a slow algorithm tracks FER target better and has
a lower standard deviation than a fast algorithm, whereas with a fast
algorithm a more effective regulation is obtained during too good quality
conditions.
Furthermore a theoretical value for the reverse link capacity has been
derived and compared to a simulated value. Simulations have shown a capacity
of 130 Erlangs in comparison to a theoretical value of 188 Erlangs.