Patent ID: 7146169

Claim:
A method of performing a soft handoff comprising the steps of: receiving a request for a change in power from a communications device at a plurality of base stations; sending the request from at least one of the base stations to a central processing station; determining at the central processing station a power adjustment ratio for each of the plurality of base stations; sending at least one control signal from the central processing station to each of the plurality of base stations to adjust the power output of at least one of the plurality of base stations; and utilizing an algorithm to determine the power adjustment ratio at the plurality of base stations wherein the algorithm is at least partially defined by: p 1 a =p 2 a =(p 1 b +p 2 b )/2; wherein p 1 b and p 2 b are power levels before a handoff transition; wherein p 1 a and p 2 a are power levels after a handoff transition.