Patent ID: 7778643

Claim:
A method operating on at least a wireless terminal, the method comprising: controlling said wireless terminal to operate, at different times, in each one of at least three different operational states, the three different operational states including a first state, a second state and a third state, wherein operating said wireless terminal in the first state includes communicating power control information between said wireless terminal and a base station at a first rate; wherein operating said wireless terminal in the second state includes communicating power control information between said wireless terminal and the base station at a second rate, the second rate being higher than zero and lower than the first rate; wherein power control information is not communicated between said base station and said wireless terminal while said wireless terminal is operating in the third state or is communicated between said base station and said wireless terminal at a rate which is lower than said second rate; and wherein operating said wireless terminal in at least one of said second and said third states includes operating said wireless terminal for at least a period of 10 ms during which said wireless terminal does not transmit any signals.