PROACTIVE UPLINK TRANSMIT POWER INCREASE IN SMALL CELLS UPON OUTBOUND HANDOVERS

摘要

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling the transmit power of a mobile station (UEX) served by a small cell (C1). In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the method comprises the steps of, and the apparatus comprises means for, detecting a measurement event anticipating the forthcoming fulfillment of a handover condition towards a neighboring macro cell (C2) by the mobile station, and thereupon step-wise increasing the transmit power level of the mobile station so as to reach a transmit power target (P_Target) when the handover condition is eventually fulfilled by the mobile station. The transmit power target is for compensating for an estimated downlink path loss for the mobile station in the macro cell. The apparatus typically forms part of a radio access point (100) configured to operate the small cell, such as a femto base station to be operated in residential or business premises, or a pico, metro or micro base station to provide increased capacity in a targeted area of data traffic concentration.