Patent ID: 7881333

Claim:
A method for wireless communications comprising: determining a probability for a transmission of data in a succeeding time period for a channel, wherein the probability is associated with a number of previous transmissions of data on the channel; allocating power on the channel for the transmission of data based on the probability, wherein allocating power on the channel comprises determining a plurality of possible transmission power requirements, and selecting a maximum transmission power requirement from the plurality of possible transmission power requirements; and determining another allocation of power for another channel based on the power allocated for the channel upon allocating power on the channel; wherein determining the plurality of possible transmission power requirements comprises: computing a plurality of transmission power requests based on all pending transmission rate requests; probabilistically determining, for each one of the plurality of transmission power requests, whether a corresponding transmission power requirement would be needed; and considering only those transmission power requests that are probabilistically determined to need the corresponding transmission power requirement as candidates for the plurality of possible transmission power requirements.