Patent ID: 8099122

Claim:
A method, comprising: detecting an unbalanced quality of power control signals from a wireless device simultaneously received at a plurality of base station transceivers involved in a soft handoff, wherein the unbalanced quality is determined based on qualities of power control signals from each of the plurality of base station transceivers involved in the soft handoff; increasing a target signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a reverse link pilot channel carrying at least one of the power control signals for at least one of the plurality of base station transceivers when the quality of the at least one of the power control signals for the at least one of the plurality of base station transceivers is below a predefined target signal quality; increasing a pilot channel transmit power level of the pilot channel transmitted by the wireless device during the soft handoff in response to the at least one of the plurality of base station transceivers; and decreasing a power gain of other channels transmitted by the wireless device in relation to the increased transmit power level of the pilot channel of the wireless device during the soft handoff, wherein the power gain of other channels in relation to the pilot channel is decreased by an amount that is more than an amount by which the pilot channel transmit power level is increased.