Patent ID: 7301904

Claim:
A method for maximizing throughput in a telecommunications system constrained by a maximum amount of power, the telecommunications system operable to utilize one of a plurality of transfer rates to service a first request, the method comprising: calculating a first power level based on an amount of power needed to support the first request at a first transfer rate; calculating a first metric based on the first transfer rate and the first power level; comparing the first metric to a threshold to determine whether the first metric exceeds the threshold; and assigning the first transfer rate to the first request if the first metric exceeds the threshold; wherein the maximum amount of power is measured in power units and the first transfer rate is measured in data bits per time unit, and wherein the first metric represents a number of data bits that can be transferred per power unit; and wherein the first transfer rate is associated with a mobile device, and wherein the first transfer rate is set to zero if the first transfer rate is not supported by the mobile device.