Power Consumption Control Technology in WiMAX MAC Layer

Reducing the power consumption of mobile stations (MSs) is one of the major issues for wireless broadband systems. The Mobile WiMAX standard defines Idle and Sleep modes to reduce MS power consumption by suspending the operation of the MS. In addition, this standard defines a protocol that enables the MS's transmitting power to be controlled from the base station. However, manufacturers should consider how to implement these modes and a protocol for using them. In this paper, we describe mechanisms for implementing the Idle and Sleep modes in an MS using the functionality of the media access control (MAC) layer. We also describe a novel transmission power control algorithm that can reduce power consumption.