CONGESTION CONTROL IN A CDMA MOBILE RADIO COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

The present invention provides an inexpensive and effective way to provide reliable cell congestion control. Transmit power control commands issued in the cell are detected, and the reliability of the issued transmit power commands is determined. A condition in the cell, e.g., congestion level, is controlled based on those issued transmit power commands which are determined to be reliable. Reliably issued transmit power control commands include those that are consistent with a corresponding transmit power control decision made by a receiver of the command, assuming the decision is not influenced by a maximum or minimum transmit power level. Those commands that are inconsistent with that decision are deemed unreliable, and therefore, are not considered in controlling the condition of the cell. In a preferred example implementation of the present invention, only reliably issued transmit power control commands are counted, and that count value is used to control the cell condition.