Power control, a key feature of CDMA systems, is examined and discusse
d with a focus on the base to-mobile link. The problem of finding an o
ptimal power control law is considered, the optimality of the PCL is p
recisely stated, and a class of very simple PCL's, which achieve almos
t optimal performance in terms of system utilization, is proposed. Bas
ed on a completely analytical approach, results for the system perform
ance are computed and discussed.