Power allocation strategies in downlink WCDMA systems using soft handover and SSDT power control techniques

In this paper, site selection diversity transmission power control (SSDT) is compared to usual soft handover (SHO) techniques in downlink WCDMA hexagonal and sectorized systems. Signal to interference ratio (SIR) power control techniques are modeled and used in the simulations. The study is focused on finding the optimum soft handover margin in terms of maximum system capacity under E_b/N₀ quality requirements. The comparison is addressed throughout the capacity and required resources (number of codes) obtained from the simulations, by assuming two different power allocation strategies.