Patent ID: 7016698

Claim:
A method in a wireless communication system for mitigating power-control errors during a soft handoff of a mobile unit, the method comprising: programming a plurality of base stations with a uniform power-control bit pattern to be sent to the mobile unit during a plurality of power-control bit times, before the mobile unit is acquired on a reverse link; and timing transmissions of the uniform power-control bit pattern such that the plurality of base stations, when transmitting, send identical power-control bits during each of the plurality of power-control bit times, and wherein programming the plurality of base stations with the uniform power-control bit pattern comprises programming a pattern that requires more than a single transmission frame of a forward link from a base station to the mobile unit before the pattern repeats, and wherein timing the transmissions comprises synchronizing the transmissions from each of the plurality of base stations such that the transmissions start at substantially identical times.