Implementation and Evaluation of the Effects of Dynamic Power Control on Operation-Time of a Mobile Terminal

Abstract

Mobile devices need to be power confident for longer periods of operation to allow the user utilize the teeming network resources optimally without having to frequently charge the device's battery. It has been shown that signal transmission alone can consume one-third of a mobile phone's battery; excluding that consumed by non-transmitting-energy-consuming components of the mobile phone. Efforts have been made by researchers in developing algorithms to control the transmit power of a mobile phone so that it does not transmit at unnecessarily high power. However, most of the algorithms in literature do not perform equally well due to their methods of operation. In this study, a new power control algorithm called Dynamic Power Control Algorithm (DPCA) was designed, which has a faster response to transmit power regulation of a mobile phone. It was compared with a popular power control algorithm in literature called Stepwise Power Control Algorithm. It was found that the DPCA achieved 31% of battery power saving over the stepwise algorithm, and made the mobile phone onerate for a longer time by 24%.