Performance analysis of a distributed fixed-step power control algorithm via window concept in cellular mobile systems

In cellular mobile systems, the received carrier-to-interference ratio (CIR) can be maintained within the desirable range provided that the path gain remains approximately constant over a number of consecutive power control steps. However, when channels suffer short-term fading, it is not clear whether existing power control algorithms remain convergent. This paper proposes a distributed fixed-step power control algorithm with binary feedback via window concept for cellular mobile systems. The essence of the proposed algorithm is that the power control step size can be regulated by window size. The performance of the proposed scheme is analyzed in short-term fading channels. A sufficient condition for system stability is derived using a simple received CIR model and a power control window. It is shown herein that the bound of the received CIR of each user varies as a function of the target CIR, the size of the power control step and the link gain. The analysis and simulation results show that if the step size is properly set according to the window size, the proposed algorithm can achieve a small convergence region and a fast convergence rate.

► A sufficient condition is derived using a CIR model and a window size.
► The bound of CIR depends on the target CIR, the step size, and the link gain.
► A bigger step size results in a faster convergence rate and smaller window size.
► A wide enough step size can cope with the large variation in the link gain.