Link Error Prediction in Wireless Communication Systems with Quality Based Power Control

The quality of end-to-end services over wireless communication networks highly depends on the error characteristics of the wireless links. By utilizing the link error characteristics for optimizing the higher layer protocols in a so called cross-layer approach, high quality improvements can be achieved, especially when considering the predictability of errors. In this document it is shown that wireless communication systems with quality based power control mechanisms entail such predictive nature of the link error characteristics. A method for obtaining estimated values of future link error probabilities in the UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) DCH (Dedicated CHannel) as an example is presented in this document. Furthermore, it is shown that various well-known and often used error models based on Markov chains are not capable of representing the predictive nature of the channel, whereas a two-state alternating Weibull renewal process describes the characteristics properly.