Method to improve outer loop power control

1 . A method for improving power control in a communication system, the method comprising:

processing data for transmission on a plurality of data channels, wherein each of the plurality of data channels comprises one of a plurality of transport formats, and each transport format has a specific block length;

acquiring an initial quality value for the plurality of transport channels;

adjusting the quality value for each remaining transport channel of the plurality of transport channels; and

transmitting the data to maintain a target signal quality value.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising maintaining the initial quality value for one of the plurality of transport channels;

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the quality value is a block error ratio (BLER).

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the target signal quality is a signal to interference ratio (SIR).

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: identifying a transport format based on a predetermined block length criteria;

maintaining the determined quality value for a transport channel of the plurality of transport channels associated with the identified longest block length; and

adjusting the quality value for each remaining transport channel of the plurality of transport channels based on a block length criteria; and

transmitting the data to maintain a target signal quality value.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein adjusting the quality value for each of the remaining transport channel of the plurality of transport channels comprises calculating the quality value in accordance with the following formula:

BLER

i

=

BLER

s

*

1

-

(

1

-

ρ

)

Li

1

-

(

1

-

ρ

)

Lk

where BLER i is a quality value for transport channel i, BLER s is an initial quality value, ρ is a probability of a bit error, L i is a block length of transport channel i, L k is a predetermined block length criteria.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein L k is a longest block length of the plurality of block lengths

8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein L k is one of an average block length or a median block length.

9 . A method for improving power control in a communication system, the method comprising:

processing data for transmission on a plurality of data channels, wherein each of the plurality of data channels comprises one of a plurality of transport formats, and each transport format has a specific block length;

determining an initial block error ratio (BLER) for the plurality of data channels;

identifying a data channel from the plurality of data channels with a transport format that has a longest block length;

maintaining the initial BLER for the identified data channel;

adjusting the BLER for each remaining data channel of the plurality of data channels based on a predetermined block length criteria; and

transmitting the data to maintain a target signal to interference ratio (SIR).

10 . A system for improving power control in a communication system, the system comprising:

a processor that processes data for transmission on a plurality of data channels, wherein each of the plurality of data channels comprises one of a plurality of transport formats, and each transport format has a specific block length;

a module that acquires an initial quality value for the plurality of data channels;

a module that adjusts the quality value for each remaining data channel of the plurality of data channels; and

a module that transmits the data to maintain a target signal quality value.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the quality value is a block error ratio (BLER).

12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the target signal quality is a signal to interference ratio (SIR).

13 . The system of claim 10 , further comprising:

a module that identifies a transport format with a longest block length;

a module that maintains the acquired quality value for a data channel of the plurality of data channels with the identified longest block length; and

a module that adjusts the acquired quality value for each remaining data channel of the plurality of data channels based on a predetermined block length criteria; and

a module that transmits the data to maintain a target signal quality value.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the module that adjusts the quality value for each of the remaining data channel of the plurality of data channels, calculates the quality value in accordance with the following formula:

BLER

i

=

BLER

s

*

1

-

(

1

-

ρ

)

Li

1

-

(

1

-

ρ

)

Lk

where BLER i is a quality value for transport channel i, BLER s is an initial quality value, ρ is a probability of a bit error, L i is a block length of data channel i, L k is a predetermined block length criteria within the plurality of data channels.

15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein L k is a longest block length of the plurality of data formats.

16 . The system of claim 14 , wherein L k is one of an average block length or a median block length of the plurality of data formats.

17 . An apparatus for improving power control, the apparatus comprising: processor means for processing data for transmission on a plurality of data channels, wherein each of the plurality of data channels comprises one of a plurality of transport formats, and each transport format has a specific block length;

determining means for determining an initial quality value for the plurality of transport channels;

maintaining means for maintaining the initial quality value for one of the plurality of transport channels;

adjusting means for adjusting the quality value for each remaining transport channel of the plurality of transport channels based on a predetermined block length criteria; and

transmitter means for transmitting the data to maintain a target signal quality value.

18 . The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the initial quality value is a block error ratio (BLER).

19 . The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the target signal quality value is a signal to interference ratio (SIR).

20 . The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the adjusting means adjusts the quality value for the remaining data channels by calculating the quality value for the remaining data channels based on the predetermined block length criteria being the longest block length of the plurality of transport formats.