Patent ID: 7936698

Claim:
A method carried out at an access network, the method comprising: at the access network, during a given monitoring period, monitoring an activity level of reverse-link communications occurring between the access network and one or more access terminals; at the access network, making a determination of whether the monitored activity level of reverse-link communications exceeds a threshold; if the determination is that the monitored activity level of reverse-link communications does not exceed the threshold, then, during a given adjustment period that occurs after the given monitoring period, responsively operating the access network in a first state, wherein operating the access network in the first state includes the access network (i) measuring a noise floor, and (ii) not receiving any communications from the one or more access terminals; and if the determination is that the monitored activity level of reverse-link communications exceeds the threshold, then, during the given adjustment period, responsively operating the access network in a second state, wherein operating the access network in the second state includes the access network (i) receiving communications from at least one of the one or more access terminals, and (ii) not measuring the noise floor.