Uplink channel assignment with balanced load for code division multiple access cellular systems

In a code division multiple access (CDMA) wireless communication system, each mobile handset must be power controlled such that the power received at the base station is roughly the same. Otherwise, the interferences between mobile handsets will degrade the performance and increase the error rate. When a mobile handset uses channels from the neighbouring cells, it will raise its power to meet the threshold of signal strength. This will also increase the interference in the home cell. Therefore, we do not want a mobile handset to use channels from other cells blindly. In this paper, we propose an uplink channel assignment method based on the directed retry concept for CDMA cellular systems. The purpose is to achieve load balancing between neighbouring cells and at the same time controlling the interference levels at the base stations such that it will not affect the performance. Furthermore, priorities are given to handoff calls when assigning channels. Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.