Patent ID: 7245935

Claim:
A method of power control for a transmitter in a cellular communication system comprising the steps of: determining power control data in response to a quality parameter of a communication between a base station and a communication unit; communicating the power control data between the base station and the communication unit; determining that a transmit power of the transmitter exceeds a threshold; determining that a quality level of the communication between the communication unit and the base station cannot be achieved when the transmit power of the transmitter exceeds the threshold; in response to determining that a quality level of the communication between the communication unit and the base station cannot be achieved when the transmit power of the transmitter exceeds the threshold, entering a reduced power mode of operation by communicating power down power control data between the base station and the communication unit; operating in the reduced power mode by communicating power control data corresponding to a reduced transmit power level that allows communication at a reduced data rate between the communication unit and the base station; and exiting the reduced power mode when a quality characteristic of a data communication between the communication unit and the base station is improving by communicating power up power control data between the base station and the communication unit.