A new method for power measurements in digital wireless communication systems

Repeatability problems, usually accompanied by low accuracy, are often experienced in power measurements, especially in those concerning spread spectrum signals, peculiar to digital wireless communication systems, and involving a specified frequency range. For this concern, a new method for power measurements is presented. The method applies original and straightforward digital signal-processing algorithms to the input signal power spectrum, preliminarily provided by optimized versions of well-known estimators, such as those based on weighted overlapped segment averaging and multitaper approaches. The outcomes of many experiments, conducted on spread spectrum signals of third-generation telecommunication systems, confirm the efficacy of the proposed method in assuring reliable and accurate results in various types of power measurement.

I. Introduction

IN DIGITAL wireless communication systems, power measurement plays a fundamental role at any one point of the lifecycle of base and mobile stations [1]–[5].