Wireless mobile communications have been subject to a significant development, particularly with the advent of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) which is certainly one of the most popular standards for mobile telephony systems in the world.
GSM networks operate in different frequency ranges with most 2G GSM networks operating in the 900 MHz or 1800 MHz bands. As known by the skilled man, the mobiles or User Equipments communicate with and under the control of a Base Station. Generally speaking, there is a dilemma to be considered between the level of transmission in the uplink and the quality of that communication. A high level of transmission reduces the life of the battery and creates interference with the neighboring mobiles, while a low level of transmission jeopardizes the quality of the communication and might result in call drops.
In GSM, the level of the transmission power in the uplink is under the supervision of the base station (BS) which provides every UE with appropriate commands for controlling the strength of the transmission signal which is to be generated by each UE.
The consequence is that the UE has no control on the transmission power in the uplink and consequently on the possibility to extend the life of the battery.
Thus, there is a desire to improve the situation and allow the transmission power to be controlled at least partially by the UE, while avoiding significant impact on call drops.